Sealed With A Kiss
by F.A. Star Hawk
Summary: YAOI! This is basically every oneshot I could think of featuring Naruto who is always uke and various other charaters, a more detailed description is inside if you're interested. Rated M for overall content.
1. Chapter 1

FASH: Ths is my little archive where each new one-shot will feature Naruto witha different person, none of these one-shots are inter-related.As stated in the summary this fic is going to contain yaoi (obviously) and after a while my pairings are going to get really odd, and I do mean **crack pairings**, so if you've ever wanted to see our beloved little Naru-chan with some guy you think no one would write about, just wait. ('Cause I'm crazy, bored and need to write something!) Anyways, I'll update with three one shots at the same time, every two weeks, so that everyone can try and find something to enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is gonna be for each individual one-shot okay? I do not own Naruto, I would give you a list of things I'd change if I did, but that would end up being longer than this fic, so I'll just leave it at that.

Warning: **Spoilers**, spoilersspoilersspoilers! (Especially if you're watching Naruto on YTV.) Sasuke is kind of OOC

Pairing: Sasu/Naru (So traditional) and a bit of one-sided Naru/Saku (In the beginning.)

Summary: He couldn't let Sasuke go to Orochimaru, he wouldn't let him, he promised Sakura that he'd bring him back, and he'd be damned if he broke that promise.

Genre: Angst, Romance

Rating: M-15 – R for semi-graphic sexual situations.

""-speech

''-thoughts

When he had first heard the news, that Sasuke had gone with Orochimaru, he was filled with an incredible sense of loss, before it was quickly overcome by anger. That bastard! Did Konoha mean nothing to him, was revenge the only thing that mattered in his mind? He vowed to himself that he'd bring Sasuke back, and his promise was intensified as he swore to Sakura he'd do it. He would never let Sakura down, never.

And now he stood here, a giant waterfall separating them, Sasuke gazed confidently back at him. 'Now it's time to see which one of us is really more powerful Sasuke-teme!'

They had fought for what seemed like hours, both of them never giving in, but as Sasuke turned into some sort of monster in front of his eyes, he knew that there was a good chance, that he had lied to Sakura, and to himself.

"Chidori!" "Rasengan!" Their final attacks were powerful enough to create a force field, Naruto could feel his energy depleting, it was then that he'd came up with his plan. He allowed himself to be blown away by Sasuke Chidori, and he feigned unconsciousness, gathering up what little energy he had left and caught his breath. He heard Sasuke's footfalls right beside him and was about to move when.

"Can't you see dobe?" Sasuke kneeled down beside him and had begun to whisper, allowing his hands to run through Naruto's hair.

"Can't you see I'm doing this all for you? I won't let Itachi take you away, I'll defeat him and then, you'll be _mine_."

As shocked as Naruto was, this was his chance to keep his promise, Sasuke's guard was down. "Hey Sasuke!"

Sasuke had quickly turned around and was met with a fist in the stomach, he met eyes with Naruto, and then blacked out, falling to the rock ground below him.

Naruto could feel his eyes getting heavy, he had to put all of his energy into that last punch after all, but the only thing he could think of as he flopped on the ground and let darkness take over was. 'I'll be his?'

He had woken up in a hospital, covered from head to foot in bandages, this was definitely not his day. 'I know! Ramen will make me feel better!' He was caught in the hallway, and brought back to his room, then he was caught just outside and was brought back to his room, and just when he'd finally made it to that Ichiraku and that mouthwatering combination of noodles, broth and spices, and he was caught by Shizune.

And now here he was, tied down to his bed, bored out of his mind. It was then that the door creaked open, Naruto perked up. 'Yatta! Someone's come to visit me!'

"Hello Naruto." Naruto's eyes snapped to the door and there Sasuke stood in all his glory, not a bandage in sight. 'Why the hell is he here?'

Sasuke slowly walked over to the bed where Naruto was bound. "You were faking it weren't you Naruto? You heard everything I said." He reached out a hand but stopped when he noticed Naruto flinch away. He brought his hand back with a frown. "Now that you know, I will not hold back-" 'Trying to kill me?' "in winning your affection." With that said he left the room leaving Naruto to ponder over two things.

'What the fuck was that about!' And, 'At least he didn't try anything with me strapped down to the bed.'

The lifestyle in Konoha quickly turned back to normal, as if Sasuke had never tried to betray them all, the fangirls stalked him, the people talked of his wonderful talents, it was enough to make Naruto want to vomit. 'If I ever pulled a stunt like that and came back _of my own free will_, they'd probably have me burned at a stake.' And Naruto didn't forget their little 'chat' in his hospital room, not that he could, he could _feel_ Sasuke's eyes watching him whenever he was outside, it was rather… Disturbing. 'Damn it, why does that bastard have to be so creepy!'

It had been going on for weeks, as often as he could Naruto would just stay inside, whenever he went out he made sure he was completely aware of everything around him, and whenever Team Seven had a mission he was sure to stay in sight and never stray to far from Sakura or get to close to Sasuke. It was a fairly bland existence, but Naruto was getting used to it, then **it** happened.

It was a boring mission, just going grocery shopping and cleaning the house for an elderly couple who had decided to go on a little vacation and they were to busy packing to do anything else. Sakura and Kakashi handled the shopping which left Naruto and Sasuke to clean. Sasuke was doing the top floor and Naruto was cleaning the basement, which Naruto thought was really unfair since the top floor seemed a _lot_ cleaner, but Naruto had an answer for that.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Within ten minutes the kitchen, living room and bathroom were completely clean, spotless, spic and span. 'Ha! Take that Sasuke-teme!' He thought as he ran up the stairs, ready to shove his small victory in Sasuke's face, only to find Sasuke, seemingly waiting for him, at the top of the stairs.

"Sasuke, what ar-" Naruto didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as he felt himself hurtling down the stairs. The last thing he saw before all went dark was Sasuke's face, smiling.

"Is he okay?" "Che, the idiot fell down the stairs, he'll be fine in no time." "Still, I think that someone should take care of him while he's hurt." Naruto eyes fluttered open, his head was resting on Sakura's lap and he grinned, almost forgetting why he was in this predicament. "You can play doctor anytime you want Sakura-chan." Sakura twitched. 'Oops, did I say the out loud?" "NARRUUUTTTOOOO DAMN YOU!" With a mighty crash of her fist against Naruto's skull, the blonde was unconscious once more.

Sasuke took a deep breath, remaining as calm as he possible could, he turned to Sakura, hardly able to keep the hatred out of his eyes. "I'll take care of the dobe, it might prove to be amusing." "Hai, whatever you say Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke turned away, feeling the Sharingan activate of its own violation, when Naruto was completely his, no one would be able to hurt him like that, especially Sakura, the damned girl, Naruto took her abuse and still followed after her like a lovesick puppy. 'Once I claim him, he'll never even think about Sakura again.' Sasuke smirked, letting out an inward cackle.

Naruto awoke, only aware of the painful throbbing in his head. 'Owwww. Sakura-chan needs to lighten up.' His eyes fluttered open and he stared at the unfamiliar ceiling. 'Okaaaay then, where am I?' He slowly shifted into a sitting position and glanced around the room, eyes catching on one symbol he could never forget. The paper fan of the Uchiha.

'That bastard! He pushed me down the fucking stairs! Why the fuck am I at his house?' Naruto growled to himself as he stomped out of the room, only to find himself in a long corridor, two doors lining each wall, at one end a staircase lead up, and the other end a staircase lead down. 'Oh hell, how am I supposed to find Sasuke-teme if I don't know where he is?' Naruto crossed his arms and pouted, glaring at the two different staircases. Left or right? Up or down? Naruto snorted. 'I suppose the king of the castle would have his room on the highest level.' Making up his mind Naruto went right and up, he had a bone to pick with Sasuke, what the fuck was he thinking, pushing him down the stairs and then kidnapping him!

Meanwhile, at the bottom level of the house Sasuke had been cooking for what seemed like hours, but he had to feed Naruto something other than ramen, the blonde needed some nutrition!

First he made the Yakisoba, Chinese style noodles served with vegetables, meat and ginger. He was sure Naruto would like it. Next was the Yakizakana, grilled fish. And then for dessert they were going to have some freshly made odango.

'Ah, a candlelit dinner for two.' Sasuke sighed with a blush, slipping into his unknown (to the public) lovesick personality. 'Oh Naruto, this is going to be so wonderful.' He quickly snapped back to himself, glancing around to make sure the blonde hadn't been around to see his loss of composure. "Where is the dobe anyway?" He asked aloud, smirking. Naruto would definitely be up by now, probably sneaking around trying to find him. 'Well, I'll just make it easier for my little koi.' And in a flash Sasuke was off, he'd have Naruto eating with him before the food even started to cool.

Meanwhile Naruto had searched all of the room on the top floor and had found something very interesting in the last room he had been in. A trap door on the ceiling leading to a small, attic like structure. It was fairly dark and musty, reminding him of a cellar, the only light streamed from a small window. Naruto crawled forward and opened the window, climbing out and onto the roof of the Uchiha main building.

"Wow. It's beautiful up here." Naruto murmured, sure it wasn't like at the top of the Hokage Monument, but at three stories high the building had a view that was breathtaking. You could see all the way to the forest, where the sun had already begun its slowly decent behind the trees.

"Lovely isn't it." Naruto tensed, eyes narrowing as he glared up at Sasuke, who simply smirked down at him. "Of course, I can think of something much more beautiful." Naruto's pupils narrowed even more. "What, don't you like my compliments?" "You bastard! You pushed me down the stairs and now you're complimenting me!" Sasuke looked unfazed by Naruto's outburst; in fact he was examining his nails in a bored fashion. "Well, how else do you expect we'll be able to spend time alone together?" He drawled out and Naruto growled, standing up to his full height and glaring up into Sasuke's eyes. "Why the hell would I care about spending time with you!" In a flash Sasuke had him pinned to the roof, his face hovering inches above his own.

"I told you in the hospital Naruto, now that you know of my feelings, I will not hold back in courting you." Naruto flushed, caught between angry and embarrassed. "What the hell is courting!" Sasuke's face slowly inched closer to his own until Naruto could feel the boy's breath against his lips. "It's like dating, only more serious and more likely to lead to marriage."

Naruto couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh, it was a hollow abrasive laugh that soon turned hysteric, but he couldn't seem to stop until he felt a hard punch against his face. The throb in his cheek slowly dulled down to a sting. But he laid there, glaring up at Sasuke who seemed to be surprised by the death glare he was getting from the blonde under him.

"Listen up Uchiha and listen close 'cause I'm only gonna say this once." Naruto growled out lowly. "You and me have never been on the best of terms, you should consider yourself lucky that I still think of you as my friend even after you tried to join up with Orochimaru, and right now, you're pushing it. We'll never be more than friends Sasuke. Now if you'll excuse me, I want to go home." He pushed Sasuke off him, the dark haired boy seemingly in a state of shock. 'Well, proves how much of an ego he has, thinking I'll swoon just like one of his fangirls.' Naruto walked over to the edge of the roof, looking down to the ground and estimating how painful it would be if he landed the wrong way…

"Wait Naruto." The blonde glanced behind him. 'Aw damn, I thought he'd be off in a daze for at least a couple more seconds.' "Naruto, if you refuse to stay here and allow me to court you, I will go to Orochimaru."

Naruto stilled, his heart beating faster and sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. "You-you wouldn't, I'll tell everyone!" Sasuke walked a step closer. "And who will they believe, you, or the genius heir of the Uchiha." He took another step. 'Damn, he has a point.' "Think of it this way Naruto, as long as you're here you can observe me, make sure I don't go 'wondering off.'" Another step taken, one more to go. "Come on Naruto, it that too much to ask?" Naruto opened his mouth to answer, his eyes narrowing in rage, but he never got to answer as he crumpled in Sasuke's arm, unconscious.

Sasuke glared at the sunset, he really shouldn't have threatened Naruto with that, but it was far too late now, with a sigh he went inside and once again laid Naruto down on the bed in the room across from his and then he went downstairs to eat, silently hoping that Naruto wouldn't hate him too much when he awoke.

It was early the next morning when Naruto's eyes fluttered open, staring solemnly at the dark ceiling above him, thinking over the ultimatum Sasuke had given him the night before.

Allow Sasuke to court or whatever with him, or Sasuke goes straight on back to Orochimaru…

It really didn't seem like he had much of a choice. But he had too, he couldn't just allow Sasuke to be used by that sick, twisted freak, and there was only one way to keep him in the Leaf…

When this was all done with and everything was back to normal, Naruto was going to kill something…

Sasuke had been up since five, following his morning routine of running around the city twice in 45 minutes and then doing katas in the Uchiha garden until seven, when the making of breakfast began. Sasuke had walked into the kitchen, wiping some sweat from his forehead, and was slightly surprised to see Naruto up, kneeling at the table with a serious expression on his face, had the situation not been so dire, Sasuke would have asked who this imposter was and where he had hidden the real Naruto. Instead, he opted to stand there and listen to what the blonde had to say. Naruto muttered a bit, his voice barely above a whisper, and from across the room Sasuke could barely hear the soft rumble of noise emitted from the other boy's mouth.

"Excuse me, but could you repeat that a little louder this time." Naruto huffed and said it again, his voice was hardly louder than before, but Sasuke stained his ears and heard. "I'll let you doing this _courting_ business so long as you don't leave again, just don't expect me t-" Blue eyes widened considerably as lips were pressed against his, Sasuke pulled away mere seconds later, Naruto stared at him in shock, cheeks turning an amazing shade of red. "H-hey! Don't _do_ that!" Sasuke smiled and turned away. "Hey! Don't turn your back on me!"

Things were finally going to go according to plan.

The next several days were very similar to each other, Naruto would wake up, and it seemed that Sasuke was always there to pamper him or talk to him or listen to him, occasionally stealing a kiss whenever possible.

It scared Naruto to think of it, but he really wasn't minding the occasional peck on the lips Sasuke bestowed upon him. In fact, sometimes he kind of felt like kissing the other boy back, but then he remembered why he was agreeing to allow Sasuke to _court_ him, and the urge to kiss him back quickly left his mind. But still, with Sasuke as his only company, it was completely normal for him to seek out his company, right? He just didn't like being alone.

By the end of the week, even Naruto wasn't fully believing the stuff he told himself.

"Hey Sasuke?" "Mmm?" "Just how long do you think they're going to believe that you're taking care of me? A little fall down the stairs," He cast a small glare in Sasuke's direction. "Shouldn't take a week to heal, especially if you know how fast my body can repair itself."

Sasuke looked as if he was taking this into consideration, and then he grinned, Naruto couldn't help but feel a little nervous, smiles like that did not mean good things.

"I've already taken care of that." "Wh-what?" "Well, the day you said you'd allow me to court you; I went and told Tsunade that you had decided to move in with me." "And… She believed you?" "Of course, and since we're on this topic, we should probably move your stuff out of your apartment, after the mission tomorrow of course." "Wait, we have a mission tomorrow?" "Yes." Naruto clenched his fists, glaring at the calm boy sitting across from him.

"And when were you planning to tell me this?" "The morning, I suppose, at least for the mission, talking to you about you moving in with me probably could have waited a couple days though." "And I have no say in this stuff at all? What if I want to move back into my apartment when this is all over!"

Sasuke's face was suddenly a meager inch from his own, Naruto could practically feel their breath intermingling. "When this is all over, you'll never want to leave." With that he left and Naruto wasn't sure if he should feel scared or angry, he decided on angry.

"SASUKE YOU BASTARD!"

The mission was simple, boring, nothing worth mentioning, the usual. Naruto had felt eyes watching him the whole time, but he never turned confirm who it was. After the mission, he lazily walked through the village, Sasuke walking just ahead of him, obviously trying not to get to far ahead. Naruto nearly cried with joy when he saw Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei!" The blonde, in a sudden burst of energy quickly ran and tackled the older man. And using his 'powers of persuasion,' conned the man into buying him ramen, Sasuke didn't let him eat ramen, and as Naruto walked away with Iruka, feeling the burning gaze on his back, he couldn't help but think. 'It's your own fault.'

He arrived 'home' later that night, he had talked to Iruka for hours, happy to have someone other than Sasuke to hang around. He carefully tiptoed inside, trying to get back to his room undetected.

"You were gone a long time." Sasuke's voice eerily echoed in the entrance hall as he stepped out of the shadows. "We were supposed to bring your stuff over here today, remember?"

"Oh yeah…" Naruto scratched the back of his head thoughtfully, he had forgotten all about it. 'I guess Sasuke's a bit pissed off at me now.' Naruto's eyes carefully focused on Sasuke's form, the other boy was just staring at him with those deep, black eyes of his, there was no movement from either of them, they just stood there, waiting for something to happen.

It did.

Naruto wasn't sure when exactly it happened, but he was suddenly pressed against the wall, Sasuke's arms at either side of him, the taller boy slowly leaning in, his breath ruffling Naruto's bangs.

"S-Sasuke?" Black eyes burrowed into his own and Naruto felt himself shiver.

"I missed you." Sasuke whispered before gently locking their lips together.

Naruto eyes widened, Sasuke had missed him? But he was only gone a couple of hours! And he was being so gentle… Naruto's eyes drooped and he was just about to kiss back when Sasuke withdrew his lips. The older boy ran his hand through Naruto's hair tenderly.

"We can move your things in tomorrow. And, if you promise to spend some more time with me, I promise I won't make any more decisions behind your back."

Naruto stared in shock. 'What the fuck? First he's blackmailing me, now he's bargaining with me?' "Sasuke, why-" He was silenced as a pale finger pressed against his lips.

"It's just, it doesn't seem to work when I try and force you to like me and-" Sasuke felt his cheeks go pink and he looked away. "I just want to spend some time with you."

Naruto blinked a bit before a small smile crept on his face, Sasuke looked so vulnerable, it was kind of cute. "Okay." Sasuke's head snapped towards the blonde, shocked expression on his face before it morphed into a relived, triumphant look. "But I still get to go with Iruka for ramen!" Slightly less triumphant, but still relieved Sasuke answered with a, "Whatever you say." And a quick kiss on the lips, this time though, Naruto kissed back.

If you had told Naruto two weeks ago that one day he was going to someday think of Sasuke as _a lot_ more than a friend, he probably would have laughed, looked at you funny when you didn't laugh with him, then called you a pervert and punched you across the face as hard as he could.

But spending two weeks with someone, even if the first week was a bit nonconsensual, kind of makes you re-evaluate the person.

Not that Naruto suddenly found out that Sasuke wasn't arrogant, was a complete saint or actually felt flattered by the affection he gets from all his fan girls. But he did find out one very important thing, Sasuke was a very good kisser when you actually began kissing back.

Naruto loved being kissed by him, the way Sasuke's tongue would beg at the seam of his lips, pleading for entrance. The way that, once inside, Naruto could feel his mouth being explored, and how whenever Naruto built up the courage to play along with his own tongue, Sasuke's won. Naruto loved kissing Sasuke, but sometimes, when he felt Sasuke's hands going a little too far or too low, he felt kind of... Wired, like Sasuke was just going a bit too far.

But he wasn't going to talk to Sasuke about it, just so long and Sasuke didn't cross the line, then everything would still be okay.

But every once in a while, when Naruto found himself lost inside of Sasuke's kisses, he'd feel the hands gliding along his covered skin, and it made him nervous.

"Hey Sasuke." "Yes?" "Can we have ramen tonight?" "No." "Pleeeaassee?" Big blue eyes were batted in the direction of one frigid boy. "No." Naruto pouted. "But we never have ramen here!" Sasuke sighed. "That's because it's not healthy at all, you can have all the ramen you want when you're with Iruka, but when you're with me, you're going to eat whatever I make." Naruto let out a cross between a whimper and a whine. "But how will I live the rest of my life!" Sasuke gazed at Naruto and smirked. "Does that mean you're going to be with me for the rest of your life?" Naruto blushed and quickly turned away. "No!"

Naruto ignored Sasuke, focusing on the _very_ interesting wall in front of him, Sasuke's voice becoming a monotonous drone behind him. 'Stupid Sasuke, twisting my words like that." Naruto's blush deepened. 'Just cause he's really nice to kiss, and nice to talk to, and listens to me and holds me, doesn't mean that I'll stay around him forever.'

Arms embraced him from the back and Naruto felt Sasuke's breath against his neck. "What do you want?" He asked, turning his head away from the one on his shoulder.

"I only want you, your happiness, and my happiness. Only three things, is it really too much to ask?" Naruto sighed, and Sasuke spoke up again. "But, if I have you, then I'll have my happiness, and I'll make you happy, so really, I only want one thing." "But… How can you be so sure you'd make me happy?" Sasuke's arms tightened around him. "Haven't I made you happy these last few weeks? I've been here for you, listened to you, smiled and laughed with you. Naruto." Sasuke turned to boy around and looked his straight in the eyes. "I've kissed you so many times that anyone else wouldn't be able to keep track. I remember our every kiss, and each of them, just remembering them, it makes me feel…" Sasuke drew their faces closer. "Complete, happy, content." He gave Naruto a small kiss on the cheek. "And then, I just want more of you, all of you."

Lips clashed together and tongues battled for dominance, Sasuke's hand pressing Naruto as close to his own body as he could, thriving on the feel of the small body against his own.

He'd had a crush on Naruto for years, and that first accidental kiss, that was when Sasuke had first decided to take action. Not know much about the ways of love he tried to recall anything he knew, which was the love/hate relationships, and that boys always pick on the girls they like.

Sadly it hadn't worked, but right now he had his Naruto, so his aforementioned failures didn't count.

The heat of the moment was getting to him, he wanted, no, needed Naruto, now. He was already halfway through tearing off Naruto's orange jacket when he felt the blonde push him away.

"Stop it Sasuke." Fingers froze, Naruto backed away, Sasuke watching him, breathing heavily. "Wh-why?" Naruto blushed and fidgeted nervously. "I just don't like it when you touch me like that, it makes me nervous, like you're going to do something really awful."

Sasuke felt his heart begin to crack. "But you like me kissing you."

"Yes, kissing is okay. But when your hands wander, I guess I'm just not used to it, I'm used to punches and kicks, not gentle or feverous caresses." Naruto blushed and Sasuke mentally cursed, he should have known that Naruto wouldn't feel comfortable being intimate with someone, he'd had no experience!

"Naruto." He took a step forward and hooked his fingers under Naruto's chin, eyes searching. "I'll go slower if that's what you want, but someday Naruto, I will have all of you as my own." Sasuke walked away and left Naruto standing there. Alone and awkward with the feeling of guilt slowly spreading over his body.

'I shouldn't feel bad, he's the one who overdid it.' But even as he told himself this, Naruto could feel his own need for Sasuke growing. He sniffled a little as he walked to his room, blushing when he heard muffled moans and a short cry of 'Naruto' in the room across from his. 'I hope he's not doing anything wired, like using a shadow clone that he transformed to look like me.' Naruto shuddered a little at the thought before entering his room, flopping on his bed and drifting into a dreamless sleep.

He woke up when the sun began shining over his eyes, which he blinked open blearily. He yawned as he slowly rose out of the bed, glancing at his clock, in was 10:43 am. He had a mission at 12:00.

As Naruto began getting dressed memories of the night below slowly filtered through his mind and he couldn't help but feel a little scandalized. 'If I hadn't pushed him away, we would have… we would have done 'IT'!' Red spread over his face, he seemed to be blushing a lot these days, and it was all Sasuke's fault!

Naruto stomped down the stairs, not feeling any of the guilt he had been last night, he was just about ready to attack, when he smelt something. A delicious, familiar, soothing, exciting smell that Naruto linked with everything good in his life.

Sasuke had made ramen.

Naruto crept into the kitchen, watching as Sasuke transferred the noodles and broth into two separate bowls.

They do say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, this was very true in Naruto's case, and if it was ramen you were giving him. Bonus points!

Sasuke turned around, placing the two bowls on the table and Naruto sat down across from the quiet boy, picking up his chopsticks and eating with zeal.

"Naruto, I just wanted to-" "I know, I forgive you." Naruto knew that Sasuke hated to vocalize his apologies, and he knew that Sasuke had made ramen to get back on his good side. 'Heh, we're already like a couple. I know how his mind works.' Naruto joked with himself, and for some reason, the thought didn't make him cringe like it once did, it made him feel... Nice.

The mission was once again tedious and Naruto found himself looking over to catch Sasuke's lingering gaze more than once.

When they finally arrived home Naruto was sure that if Sasuke didn't kiss him soon, he'd have to take the initiative.

So when Sasuke didn't give Naruto what he wanted within the first five minutes they were home, Naruto jumped him, attacking him with a barrage of kisses.

This time, when Sasuke's hand began tugging at Naruto jacket, Naruto didn't push Sasuke away.

When Sasuke's lips began kissing their way down Naruto's chest, Naruto did nothing but moan in reply. When Sasuke began taking off his own shirt, Naruto watched hungrily.

Naruto had been thinking about what Sasuke had said before all during the mission. Sasuke had made him happy these last couple of weeks, and if kissing Sasuke was as great as it was, then why shouldn't they be more intimate?

Butterflies began pounding in his stomach when both he and Sasuke were stripped down to nothing but their boxers. He reached out uncertainly, hands shaking slightly, and he pulled Sasuke's underwear off. He stared at the erection with wide eyes, his mouth suddenly dry. If guys had sex how Naruto thought they did, then he was going to be in a hell of a lot of pain.

Sasuke, thankfully, seemed to sense his discomfort and lightly embraced him. "It'll be okay Naruto, you just need to relax." He whispered softly as he pulled down Naruto's boxers, his hands roaming up and down Naruto's thighs, coming close, but not close enough to touch Naruto's sensitized flesh. It was sheer torture for them both.

Sasuke gazed hungrily at the boy under him, he had wanted this for so long. He could feel his own excitement build up as he prepared Naruto for their union, he was almost ready to burst when Naruto murmured. "I'm ready."

That was definitely one of his favorite phrases.

He carefully pushed into the body below him, trying not to hurt Naruto too much, but he could tell that Naruto was feeling uncomfortable, if the nails digging into his back were any indication. When he was finally completely inside Naruto he took a deep breath to calm himself, before slowly rocking his hips, Naruto groaned under him and Sasuke started going faster, his thrusts striking deeper into Naruto's body, as Naruto writhed and moaned under him. He could feel that the end was near for both of them when Naruto's eyes rolled back and he breathily called out Sasuke's name, Naruto tightened around him and Sasuke felt a though fire was coursing through his veins, he closed his eyes and with a final thrust he emptied his seed into Naruto body.

The two lay there in each other's embrace, panting from their recent love making.

"Was it as bad as you thought it would be?" Sasuke joked lightly as he nipped Naruto's ear affectionately, Naruto just snuggled in Sasuke's arms. Sasuke's eyes softened as he looked down at Naruto peaceful face.

"I love you, Naruto." He almost didn't hear the murmured. "I love you too." But he knew it had been said. Holding the boy closer, he quietly asked. "Does that mean you will stay with me, forever?" Naruto whispered a yes as he drifted into sleep and Sasuke hoped beyond hope that Naruto would remember his answer in the morning.

He did, and this time he sealed his promise with his most favorite of all actions, the kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

Warnings: No spoilers that I can think of, but Naruto is going to be 16 in this fic, so Iruka's, like, 26, yep. Shotacon. Kind of AUish fic, no ukesas inggo to the undso. (The people who know, know what that means.)

Pairing: Iru/Naru

Summary: Iruka always cared about him, for as long as he could remember, and Naruto knew he'd always care, no matter how much he screwed up.

Genre: Romance

Rating: PG 13 for slight, _very slight_, sexual situations and maybe language.

""-speech

''-thoughts

It was a rainy morning in April when Naruto blearily opened his eyes only to realize that he had a mission today, and that he had to be at the bridge in five minutes. With a cry of agony he leapt about his room, in search of clothing before a thought drifted into his mind. Kakashi-sensei was always late, so did it really made if he came on time. With this in mind he slowed down his pace and casually walked to the bridge, grinning up at the sky. He loved days like this, where the light rain cooled you down while the few rays of sun peaking out from behind the clouds kept you in high spirits.

It was only when he finally came upon the bridge and no one was there that Naruto frowned. He wasn't that late, so why wasn't anyone here? 'Maybe they went looking for me? Ya, that's it, and once they see I'm not home they'll come back here!'

Naruto waited for an hour, and by then, even if the rainfall was light, he was soaked to the bone, and due to this he had decided two things. One, he hated his life, and two he hated being wet. With these thoughts in mind he wanted to get out the rain as soon as possible, which is how he found himself in front of Iruka's house.

'Iruka-sensei won't mind, besides, he lives closer to the bridge then I do.' Naruto thought, grin back on his face as he knock on the door. There was no answer. He knocked again, louder this time, and finally heard a muffled, "Just a minute!" from inside.

So he stood there, tapping his foot impatiently as rain slowly dripped down his face until the door finally started to open. "Ano sa ano sa Iruka-sensei, what took you so-" Naruto stopped mid rant as he looked at his teacher who was partially hiding behind the door, more than likely because he was dripping wet and only in a white fluffy towel. 'Oh... That explains why it took so long.' Naruto thought with a blush as he ripped his eyes away from Iruka's body and looked down at his feet instead. "Sooooo Iruka-sensei, can I come in?" He asked, looking up through his eyelashes at Iruka, who smiled and opened the door wider. "Of course Naruto, you really don't have to ask."

Naruto entered his teacher's house as Iruka left to dry himself of and get dressed. The blonde wondered over to the living room, eyes gazing over photographs where Iruka was around ten, maybe eleven, and had a shy smile on his face, a beautiful brunette woman on his right side and a tall redheaded man on his left. 'Iruka-sensei's parents...' He took one photograph down and eyed it closer. Iruka, he had his mother's smile and hair, but his eyes and face were definitely his father's. And for the first time in quiet awhile, Naruto wondered whose eyes he had, if his mother smiled like him or if his father was blonde, but Naruto supposed he'd never know, nobody ever cared to tell him, and he didn't know if he should ask, who he could ask, if they'd even bother answering him. Naruto could feel his eyes brim with tears and he fought to keep them back, he felt hot, hot and weak, but he couldn't let Iruka see him cry.

"Naruto, I brought you a towel to-" Iruka had snuck up behind him and in a sort of shock Naruto accidentally let go of the picture. The glass shattered on the floor.

There was a tense moment of silence before Naruto was down on the floor collecting the sharp fragments of glass and muttering apologies through his tears, he was vaguely aware of Iruka pulling him away from the glass, telling him everything was okay, asking if he was alright, before his world went dark.

Naruto woke up with a muffled groan, his temples throbbing, his throat sore and his vision blurry. 'I'm sick aren't I?' Apparently waiting around for over an hour in the rain wasn't that smartest thing he could have done, but it was too late now, and Naruto found himself wondering how he got into a bed and into his white pajamas.

"Oh Naruto, you're awake." Oh, that explained everything, Iruka put him to bed. Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but Iruka placed one finger to his lips. "Shh, just go back to sleep Naruto, I've already contacted Kakashi and told him you couldn't be there for tomorrow's mission." Naruto frown. "But," He frowned more as his voice cracked and his throat stung. "But I don't have a mission tomorrow." Iruka smiled lightly. "Today is Saturday Naruto, not Sunday." Naruto's eyes widened. 'Crap! I did all that waiting around today for nothing?' Iruka chuckled lightly, probably guessing Naruto's thoughts dead on. "Just go back to sleep Naruto, some rest will do you good." Naruto obeyed reluctantly and closed his eyes, letting all the tension drain away from his body. He was asleep seconds later.

He woke up again, either really late at night or really early in the morning, he couldn't tell, nor could he understand why he woke up, he felt exhausted, more sick than before, and he could feel his stomach painfully reminding him that he hadn't eaten _all day_. He was about to get up and solve his hunger problems when he heard something, footsteps.

'Iruka-sensei's probably just checking up on me.' Naruto thought as he feigned sleep, hugging one of the pillows close to his chest.

Half a minute later he heard a sigh above him and felt a hand ruffle his hair. "Oh Naruto, you've really got to take care of yourself." Iruka said, his voice just above a whisper. "Sometimes I wish… I wish that you'd let me take care of you." Iruka crouched beside that bed and Naruto was sure that if he opened his eyes now, he'd be looking straight into Iruka's caring obsidian orbs.

"You shouldn't be living by yourself," Iruka continued and Naruto was sure he could feel Iruka's breath against his face, just how close was he? "You should be with someone who really cares about you, like me." Naruto heard Iruka get up and move towards the door, but just before he left Naruto heard one more thing, something said so softly he could hardly be sure he didn't just hear it in his mind.

"I love you Naruto."

Naruto couldn't seem to get to sleep until the sun finally began to peek over the horizon, and even then he had fitful dreams. Alone on a swing, the villagers in front of him, mocking him, glaring at him, whispering about him. And at his back he could feel the dark presence of Kyuubi, in all of his murderous glory.

"Naruto, come on, wake up." Naruto groggily opened his eyes, squinting them in an attempt to block out most of the light. "Nnn, whaddyou want Iruuka-Seeensei?" He asked with a slight slur as he attempted to sit up, not exactly failing, but not achieving his goal either, he more or less slumped against the headboard and used all of he power to stay there.

"Are you feeling any better?" Iruka asked, sitting at the edge of the bed beside Naruto, eyes filled with silent worry as Naruto shrugged and muttered. "I'm hungry." Iruka smiled. "I thought you might say that, I'll be back in a minute." And indeed Iruka came back nary a moment later carrying a bowl of something Naruto was very saddened to find out that it was not ramen.

"You're stomach probably wouldn't be able to hold it." Iruka explained as though he was telling a three year old to tie his shoes. Naruto knew this because he remembered when Iruka tried to teach him, something about a bunny and a rabbit hole and that little bunny going into the rabbit hole- Naruto snapped out of his little delusion when he spotted the spoon being held just centimeters away from his mouth.

"I can feed myself." Naruto said irritably and Iruka clicked his tongue in disagreement. "Naruto, you can hardly stay sitting up, I don't want you spilling hot soup all over yourself." Naruto complied and opened his mouth, swallowing the chicken flavored broth with a blush. This was like something you did with a baby or a lover. Naruto's blush heightened as he recalled Iruka's words last night, they could have meant anything- "Naruto?" Iruka could have been speaking about love, like as a brother- "Naruto, are you alright?" or as a father, but was Iruka, was he, did he like… Men? "Naruto!" The blonde came to and looked into Iruka's worried eyes. "What's wrong Iruka-sensei?" Iruka didn't answer but laid his hand across the blonde's forehead. "Naruto, do you want any aspirin? You feel a bit to hot." Naruto shook his head. "I'll be fine Iruka-sensei, I'm just hungry." Iruka frowned but nodded.

Naruto blushed the whole time he was being fed.

When three o' clock rolled around Naruto was feeling a bit better, and he was also feeling very cramped, staying still all day just didn't sit well with him, so stumbling out of the bed Naruto slowly made his way towards the living room, one hand bracing himself against the wall as he trudged along slowly. He was about halfway there when- "Naruto!" "GAH!" Needless to say, Iruka had snuck up on him again and Naruto tripped and landed on his crossed arms. "Owww."

"Naruto, you shouldn't be out of bed." Iruka said as he lifted Naruto off the ground as if it took no effort at all, Naruto pouted. "But Iruka-sensei, I can't stay in here anymore, it's too boring!" Iruka smiled lightly. "Well then, I suppose I'll just have to entertain you." Iruka said as he made his way towards the living room, laying Naruto gently down on the couch. "Are there any bored games you want to play?" He asked softly and Naruto shook his head. "No, can we just… Talk?" Iruka nodded and sat down on the floor.

Silence filled the room, Naruto not quite sure what to say and Iruka not wanting to interrupt him, until finally words were spoken. "Iruka-sensei. Did you know my parents?" Iruka looked a bit startled for a second before shaking his head. "I don't think anyone is sure who your parents are Naruto, they could have died in battle, maybe the Third knew, but perhaps the information passed away with him." Naruto was silent once again, thinking things over.

"Iruka-sensei, do you think…. What I mean is… Could my parents still be alive but, but they… They don't love me anymore?" Naruto asked in a broken voice, his eyes drifting over to the pictures, there was one missing, the one he had dropped.

"I'm sorry about your picture Iruka-sensei." "It's okay Naruto, I'll just get it a new frame." They were silent after that, Iruka didn't want to try and answer Naruto's previous question, and Naruto didn't want to ask anything else.

Naruto had decided to sleep on the couch, Iruka had tried to protest, but the blonde waved of the brunette's concern with a, "It's your bed sensei, I don't want to take it up longer than I have to." And now he was laying there, his mind half asleep, his eyes barley open, but he was waiting, waiting to see if it would happen again tonight. And sure enough he heard the sound of footsteps and closed his eyes fully, waiting once again for what Iruka would say.

Iruka kneeled down beside the couch, gazing at Naruto with eyes full of love and affection. "I wish I could tell you how much you mean to me." He began softly, his voice tender. "But you're so young, still a child, but maybe someday I'll tell you how much you really mean to me."

Naruto heard Iruka sigh and expected the older male to simply get up and walk away, he didn't expect a soft pressing of lips against his and it took all of his will power not to snap his eyes open or give away any proof that he wasn't really asleep.

Just as quickly as the kiss came, it left, Iruka with it, and for reason Naruto didn't quite understand, he suddenly felt very hollow inside.

Naruto spent the rest of the night wondering over his feelings for his teacher.

Daybreak had come again, and with it the village of Konoha slowly stirred into wakefulness, in no time at all there were people in the streets, going shopping, ninjas training, going on missions. But in Iruka's house, everything was still, almost too still. Naruto was still awake, although barely, and he was wondering if Iruka was still asleep. He probably was, Naruto knew that the teacher hardly ever slept well on weeknights, but Monday was a bit of an exception, there was always far to much marking to be done, but on the weekends Iruka was able to relax, unwind and prepare himself for the oncoming week, and on Monday, he probably needed a couple extra minutes of rest. It would make sense for Iruka to sleep as much as he could when he had nothing better to do. It didn't occur to Naruto that Iruka did have something better to do, take care of him.

So it came as a surprise to Naruto, that, after only a few seconds after shutting his eyes only to open then again slowly, Iruka's face was right in front of his.

"GAH! IRUKA-SENSEI? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Naruto screamed as he fell off of the couch, Iruka laughed heartily before helping the boy up. "Well, I was going to wake you up, but you did that all on your own." Naruto stared at Iruka, then he stared some more, and then some more. Iruka began flushing, the light pink contrasting with his normally tanned skin. "Anyway, what do you feel like for breakfast today?" He asked to break the silence, quickly adding a, "Not ramen." And feeling slightly bad when he watched Naruto's face fall, he added, "Look, I'll take you out for some ramen once you're better." And inwardly. 'It'll be just like a date.'

Soup broth and some crackers, for some reason, it just didn't seem as fulfilling as his ramen, as good as him ramen, as… Well ramen was just great, it was the best and Naruto longed to be better so that Iruka would give him ramen. 'Speaking of Iruka…' Naruto looked at the man who was sitting across from him, reading a red covered book, he looked very deep in thought, concentrated. 'Well, Iruka-sensei isn't that bad looking.' Naruto blushed a bit and fiddled with the hem of his pajama top, looking up through his eyelashes at his old teacher. 'Iruka always believed in me, always cared for me, but… What do I feel for him?' Naruto flushed even more, unaware that Iruka was absolutely drinking in the sight of him. 'He's so adorable when he blushes, I wonder what he's thinking about? Probably Sakura.' Iruka let out a soft sigh. 'Well, who am I to stand between Naruto and his crush, I'm not even his sensei anymore.'

Meanwhile, during Iruka's small bout of self pity, Naruto had made up his mind. 'I'll just go over there, tell him I heard him those two times, and that I really like him too.' Naruto nodded to himself. 'I just hope he doesn't get embarrassed or try to deny it.' And so Naruto got up and strode purposely forward, intent on making his objective known… Only to trip on the hem of his pajama pants…

"Naruto, are you okay!" "I'm fine! Really I am!" "Are you sure?" "Yep, anyways, you should hurry up, you're going to be late for your own class." "I'm taking the day off." Naruto blinked. "Huh?" Iruka smiled softly. "I want to take care of you."

The whole day Naruto had been gather up the courage to tell Iruka that he liked him, then something always seemed to go horribly wrong and he'd end up failing. His hope was dwindling away, like Iruka's money after he'd offered to buy Naruto ramen. But there was still some hope left, he just needed a window of opportunity…

He was having soup, again, and Naruto decided that he never ever was going to eat soup for the rest of his life! Well, unless Iruka decided to feed him again, but that was beside the point, soup broth got really, really boring after it's all you've eaten for four times straight.

Naruto stared dully at the steaming yellow broth sitting innocently in front of him he picked up his spoon and lowered it into the bowl, stirring it lazily. 'This is not my day.' He let out a long sigh. 'He would probably get really embarrassed if I told him I heard him those two times, but what else am I supposed to do, 'trip' and fall, somehow miraculously landing with our lips locked. Like that would ever happen.' His eyes snapped open. 'Wait a minute! That has happened to me before! Damn Sasuke, stealing my first kiss! But if it can happen once, it can happen again.' Naruto chuckled evilly, although it sounded more like a giggle than anything else. He quickly got up, he had some preparations to make.

The soup was left on the counter, untouched.

Naruto had pleaded with Iruka to let him go to the park, using his biggest, brightest most tearful puppy-dog-eyes he could muster. Iruka relented in five seconds flat. Very few people could stand up to the Uzumaki's puppy dog eyes, and the people who could were just plain unfeeling bastards.

It was noon by the time Naruto was dressed and happily skipping alongside Iruka, his plan was absolutely perfect.

The park, although it was usually fairly busy, all ninja academy students would be in school, and all the ones who weren't enrolled yet would be sitting at home eating lunch. And Naruto could think of any reason why someone his age or older would go to the park, accept to watch over their sibling or child. So it made perfect sense that when they arrived at the old park, it was completely deserted.

Iruka seated himself on a bench, book in hand. Naruto eagerly went over to the swings, he couldn't properly execute his plan if he fell on top of Iruka right away. So Naruto swung, eyes drifting over to where Iruka was reading, but every once in a while the older male would look up from his book, his dark eyes following every movement that the blonde made.

And then the time to act was upon him, without even bothering to stop swinging Naruto leaped just as the swing had begun it's decent, he landed with cat-like grace. "Iruka-sensei!" He bounded over, and a not even mere foot away began slipping with his arms outstretched. This was it.

"Naruto!"

Iruka caught him, inches before contact, Naruto's eyes were wide with shock that his plan didn't work, his fingers lightly gripped Iruka's collar as the man held him up. 'Damn it, I have to act fast!'

"Naruto, are you okay?" Naruto looked into Iuka's eyes, opening his mouth as if to answer… Then he smashed his lips against Iruka's, trying to get some sort of reaction from the other man.

Iruka, for his part, was sitting there in shock, and unable to hold Naruto up any longer the boy slunk closer to his body. He was just about ready to kiss back when Naruto pulled back, gasping for air.

Heart stopping blue met with the deepest of blacks. Naruto's cheeks flushed a rosy pink and he looked down. 'Okay, so maybe I was being a bit to forward there…' "Naruto?" The blonde looked up and felt Iruka's lips gently sweeping over his own. The kiss was soft and sweet, as opposed to the brutal kiss Naruto had initiated only seconds before. Blue eyes fluttered closed as he brought up his legs to sit astride on Iruka's lap, undoing the man's ponytail and running his hands through the dark brown hair as Iruka slowly ran his hands up and down Naruto's back. Iruka's tongue ran over the seam of Naruto's lips and Naruto opened them with a sigh, allowing Iruka to map out the inside of his mouth while his own tongue playfully ran along Iruka's.

When they finally broke away from each other Iruka cupped Naruto's face, looking straight into his eyes. "Naruto, when did you… Why did you kiss me?" Naruto flushed. "I heard you, last night and the night before." He grinned at Iruka's reddening face. "And I decided that I really like you, you were always there for me." He snuggled into Iruka's chest, fiddling with the chuunin's green jacket. "You would always make sure I was okay, and you would buy me ramen." Naruto smiled to himself. "And… Well I never had a chance with Sakura, and I know that, and I would really like to have a relationship with someone who I know will always care about me, no matter how much of a bastard I turn out to be." "Naruto! Don't use that language." Iruka scolded, holding the boy closer to his chest.

"So Iruka-sensei-" "Iruka, just call me Iruka." Naruto grinned from ear to ear, his eyes squinting shut. "So Iruka, what does this make us now?" "I think that we've definitely become boyfriends love." Iruka replied as he playfully nipped Naruto's ear, Naruto chuckled a bit before looking his sensei, his boyfriend, his _lover_ straight in the eye.

"So, want to go back to your place, and continue our earlier train of thought?" "What train of though?" Iruka looked confused until Naruto playfully placed a kiss on his lips. "Oh."

They quickly scrambled back to Iruka's dwelling, both feeling great, Iruka finally had Naruto and Naruto finally had someone to love him.

'Today is definitely my day.'


	3. Chapter 3

Warnings: Haku and Zabuza did not die, this story does not follow any real timeline from the manga/anime.

Pairing: Haku/Naru

Summary: Haku and Zabuza did not die at the bridge, but were given a second chance at life, and now the two have decided to visit the Leaf. Boy is Naruto in for a 'surprise'.

Genre: Humor, Romance

Rating: PG-13

""-speech

''-thoughts

The sun was just beginning to rise over the forest, sending streams of reddish light through the foliage and lightening the world below the treetops.

There were two people walking side by side under the giant trees that surrounded Konohagakure. One was a tall man, a giant weapon strapped to his back. The other was a teenager with long dark hair and a fair face.

It had been months since their near death and surprise revival by none other than the Copy-nin Kakashi. It seems that he felt copying a few basic medic-nin techniques would come in handy someday.

"Zabuza-san, do you believe that Kakashi told his students of our revival, or do you think they're under the impression that we are dead?" Haku asked softly as the man beside him paused to think, then with a shake of his head Zabuza replied with.

"I'll be damned if I know what goes on through his head."

Haku just smiled, even if they didn't know now, soon Team 7 would learn of their existence. 'I'll see you soon, Naruto.' Zabuza must have caught the wistful look in his eyes, because he snickered and said. "Don't worry, you'll have your blonde gaki soon enough."

Deep within Konoha, a certain blonde 'brat' sneezed, right in the face of a certain temper mental pink hair girl who angrily yelled. "NARUUTTOOO! DAMN YOU!" Before beating him into the ground.

Aye, today was not a good day to be a boy named Naruto.

There had been a bit of a hassle when Zabuza and Haku began entering Konoha, but it wasn't anything Haku couldn't handle, he was quite the sweet talker and people person when he had to be. And the fact that he looked like a young, innocent and attractive girl probably helped them a bit as well.

Zabuza just stood there, lazily watching as Haku charmed their way into the village. Pretty boys, can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

"Hey Sakura-chan! Want to go on a date with me?" "No!" "Why not?" "Do you really need me to list off the reasons?" "Yes."

Sakura sighed and turned around to fix her death glare on Naruto, but something from behind him caught her eyes and she froze, mouth dropping open to form a small 'o' and eyes widening.

"Sakura-chan? Are you alright?" Sakura lifted a shaking hand and pointed behind him, so Naruto spun around coming face to face with.

"WHAAA? HAKU?" Haku smiled and leaned in closer to the blonde. "Good to see you to, Naruto-kun."

Naruto then did what any other would do when confronted with a 'ghost of his past', he promptly fainted.

When he awoke mere minutes later, he found himself face to face with a worried looking Haku. "Are you alright Naruto-kun?"

Naruto paled, his skin's pallor now rivaling that of Sasuke's, and he slowly stood up and backed away, all the while muttering under his breath about 'ghosts.'

If he didn't seem to be so completely terrified of him, Haku thought the moment would have been kind of cute.

Haku rose from the ground and took a few steps forward. "Naruto-kun." He called in his most soothing voice. "It's okay Naruto-kun, I'm not a ghost, I'm still alive, see." Haku lifted his hand and brushed it lightly against Naruto's face. "If I can touch you I'm alive, because a ghost can't touch those who live." His hand did not stray from Naruto's face, lightly running his smooth fingers over the whisker scars.

"Y-You're not dead?" Haku smiled and opened his mouth to reply when. "Of course he's alive, he just showed you, you IDIOT!" Naruto looked beyond Haku's shoulder, Sakura stood, maybe ten feet away, fuming to herself and looking for all the world like she was about to kill someone. Even Zabuza took a small, hardly noticeable step back.

When that girl is angry, she has the power of GOD!

Haku frowned lightly when Naruto focus was taken off of him, but he quickly brought it back when he brought up his other hand to cup Naruto's face.

"Me and Zabuza-san never really died Naruto, it just seemed like we did. Do you understand?" Naruto nodded his head, even though it was obvious he didn't understand at all. 'Oh Naruto-kun, you're so adorable.'

Naruto had stayed in shock for the majority of the day, mindlessly wandering around the town while Sakura, in an effort to be useful, took Haku and Zabuza to the Hokage so that they could, well, do something important, probably. Sakura probably just thought that they had forced their way into Konoha, so they needed the Hokage's permission to stay.

Luckily said Hokage was busy trying to sort out her gambling debt, no doubt under the impression that if she put it off any longer, a certain apprentice of hers would have her head. So in the midst of her worrying over paperwork, debt problems, and Shizune constantly looking over her shoulder, Tsunade didn't really have time to look up into the faces of the people she was allowing to stay in her village.

What a relief!

Meanwhile, during some mindless wandering, Naruto happened to bump into Rock Lee.

"YOSH! Naruto-kun! Why do you wander so needlessly while in your springtime of youth!" The bright glare from Lee's smile caused Naruto to blink a couple times, before he tilted his head to the side with a. "Huh?"

Lee sweatdropped. "Naruto-kun, what's got you so distracted today?" Naruto took a deep breath, and sighed. "Well there are some guys, you know, and I thought they were dead, and now they're not dead, so I thought they were ghosts, but apparently they're not cause they never really died, so Sakura yelled at me when the cute one tried to prove he was alive, but I don't know how they're alive, cause I was pretty sure they were dead."

Lee blinked, eyebrows rising up. "Umm, right… I'll see you later Naruto-kun!" He took off and Naruto stood their waving lazily at the quickly shrinking form of Lee. 'But how did they not die, when we saw them die, I mean, we even buried them and everything! We didn't bury them alive did we?' Naruto eyes widened, it was the perfect explanation!

'OH MY GOD! I HAVE TO APOLOGIZE!'

Naruto dashed off into the sunset.

Sakura was leading Haku and Zabuza to their new 'home away from home', which Haku was delighted to find out was in Naruto's building, and every once in a while she cast glances in Zabuza's direction, it was really beginning to annoy him, she might as well openly stare at him, it would probably be less obvious.

"Alright, what's your problem?" Sakura looked shocked for a moment, before smiling and clasping her hands together. "It's just, ummm…. It was so _cute_, when you were fighting off all those men for Haku, even when you were pierced by so many weapons." She gave a dreamy sigh. "And then, when you both 'died', it was so _cute_, how you asked to be moved near Haku and everything! It was _sooo adorable_!" Sakura had little hearts in her eyes by the end of her fangirl rant and Zabuza was quick to wish that he hadn't asked.

Naruto was slowly walking home, it was already dark out and he couldn't seem to find Haku and Zabuza anywhere! And it's not like they wouldn't stick out in a crowd! They just disappeared! 'Like ghosts.' Naruto shook his head. 'No! They aren't ghosts remember. They're probably just somewhere you haven't look, you'll just have to apologize for burying them alive tomorrow.'

Naruto shuffled into his apartment, unaware that just one floor under him, Haku and Zabuza were conversing in hushed voices.

The next day there were no missions, no sun, no warmth, but there was plenty of rain. Too bad Naruto didn't like the rain, it always made the roads really muddy, and sometimes he'd step in a really wet spot where hit foot would be engulfed by the ground and he could feel the mud creeping in between his toes.

Ewww….

That being the case, Naruto decided to stay inside, he could always apologize to Haku and Zabuza later, when the rain stopped and the ground dried up again.

Naruto was just in the midst of making his breakfast, miso ramen, even though it was actually around lunch time, when he heard a several slow, quiet knocks on the door.

Sakura always banged on his door like a punching bag, Sasuke would have knocked only once, Iruka knocked five times quietly, but quickly, and Kakashi usually just got in Naruto's apartment somehow, usually via open window.

But since it obviously wasn't any of them, Naruto couldn't help but wonder who the hell it was.

He slowly made his way to the door, and then slowly began opening, but that didn't matter, because he only needed it open just a crack to figure out who it was.

"HAKU!" Naruto glomped onto him, sending them both to the ground. "HakuI'msosorrythatweburiedyoualiveIreallydidthinkyouweredeadbutifI-" "Err. Naruto I have no idea what you're saying."

"I'm sorry we buried you alive, I really thought you guys were dead-" "Naruto, you didn't bury us alive." Naruto looked down at Haku and blinked. "We didn't?" "No." "Oh… Well, that's good." Naruto awkwardly unwrapped his arms from around Haku and stood up, shifting uncomfortably. 'At least I saw Haku first, that would have been really, really awkward if it had been Zabuza.'

Haku gracefully got up and brushed the dirt from his clothes, his small smile hidden by his bowed head.

Naruto stood there anxiously, twiddling his thumbs. 'Come on Naruto, say something! Think, think….' "So, ahhh, if we didn't, you know, bury you alive, then how… Why…" Naruto squinted his eyes, the words to complete his question eluding him.

Luckily Haku knew what he was getting at. "You want to know how Zabuza-san and I are still alive?" Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Well, it's a bit of a long story, may I come in?" Naruto nodded again, a small blush crossing over his face as he held the door open for Haku, then closing it behind himself.

Haku and Naruto seated themselves on the couch, Haku wore a calm expression while Naruto looked as though he would die any second if Haku didn't start the explanation soon.

With a deep breath, Haku began.

"You remember when all the villagers came, and then both you and Kakashi did Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?" Naruto nodded. "Well, in all the chaos that followed, it was very easy for the real Kakashi to come over and use some minor healing techniques on me. I was unconscious at the time, but from what Zabuza-san told me, it seems that when Kakashi was brining him over to my side, he used another minor healing technique." "But would we have seen the chakra?" "Not necessarily, although it is true that while watching medic-nins heal, you will see a great amount of their chakra, but since Kakashi was only healing Zabuza-san enough so that Kakashi was sure he'd survive, he wasn't using very much chakra, and what he was using was probably hidden from view under Zabuza-san's body." "But, you two died." "Zabuza-san realized what Kakashi was doing and pretended to die, I was already unconscious, so it really wouldn't be that hard for everyone to think I had died." "But what about when we buried you?" "I'm not to sure on this one, but from what I can gather Kakashi probably used Kage Bunshin or Bunshin no Jutsu and combined it with Henge no Jutsu, so it looked as if you really were burying us."

Naruto leaned against the arm of the couch, his mind desperately trying to absorb all the information it had been given.

"So Kakashi saved you both?" "Yes." "And… He didn't tell us?" "I guess not."

Naruto clenched his fists angrily, seething. "That BASTARD! I'm gonna find his and show him a thing or two!" He was ready to run out into the rain and attempt finding and teaching Kakashi a lesson, but a hand grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Naruto turned around to find Haku's face eerily close to his own.

"I'm sure Kakashi had his reasons for allowing you to think that we had died, but the most important thing is that we lived, and you know that now." Naruto muttered a few choice words under his breath, but grudgingly agreed.

They sat back down in silence, listening to the light pitter-patter of the rain, for what seemed like hours, just find comfort in each other's presence.

Until another knock on the door ruined it all. Judging by force of the banging, enough to seemingly send vibrations through the whole apartment, it must have been Sakura.

"NARUTO!" Uh-oh, apparently he'd taken too long and Sakura had decided that just coming in without permission was the thing to do.

Sakura rushed in and stood in front of Naruto, glowering at him.

"Hi Sakura-chan! What brings you here on a day like today?" "Narrutooo! Did you forget? Baka!" Naruto sunk further into the couch, trying to get as far away as he could without being completely obvious.

Sakura + Anger Power of God, remember?

"Naruto, you promised that today you would help me and Ino carry our shopping bags, now we only have five more hours to shop!" "Bu-but." "No buts Naruto, now come on!" Sakura began forcefully dragging Naruto away while Haku watched, an amused smile on his face.

'Man, Sakura-chan may be cute, but Haku is cuter and isn't nearly as temper-mental.' Naruto blushed and shook his head rapidly. 'Nope, nu-uh, Sakura-chan is better than Haku, really she is!' Naruto's foot was suddenly stuck in the mud, going under the slick substance with a disturbing squishing sound. 'FUCK! I hate the rain!'

Five hours and countless bags later, Naruto was under the impression that running a flower shop was a very profitably business, and that Sakura had saved up for years for this one shopping trip.

'Girls are so confusing, they buy all these clothes that they'll hardly wear because most of the time they need to be in their training clothes.' Naruto eyed the bags he was carrying warily, as if at any moment the contents of the bag would suddenly hop out and attack.

Well, it was Sakura and Ino's stuff, so he couldn't really put it past whatever was hidden inside of those obnoxiously pink, frilly, paper bags.

"Naruto! Stop daydreaming and pay attention!" "Hai, Sakura-chan."

'Haku definitely isn't this temper-mental.'

The next day Naruto dragged himself out of bed to be at the bridge by 7:30, even though he knew Kakashi wouldn't be there by at least 9:00, carrying a bunch of bags for shopping obsessed girls was more of a workout then he ever wanted to admit, and he felt slightly sorry for Sasuke, if he ever turned out to be one of their boyfriend, then he would be stuck as a bag boy.

… Or maybe they wouldn't put him through that, who was Naruto to judge? All Naruto knew was that he really wished he hadn't promised Sakura to 'help' her and Ino shop, he kind of like just sitting in his small living room with Haku, listening to each other's breathing.

Naruto fought down a blush. 'Haku is still as pretty as ever, prettier than Sakura-chan and Ino combined, and he's so much nicer than the two of them.' Naruto starred dazedly at the water running under the bridge, his vision blurring. 'I wonder, do I like Haku?' Naruto focused on the water, noticing the blush on his reflection's cheeks. 'I think I do like Haku, he's pretty and nice.' Naruto inner ramblings were interrupted as Kakashi appeared, earlier than normal, but still very late.

"Sorry I was late, you see, there was this angry turtle who wanted to challenge me-" "LIAR!" Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. 'But Gai really did bug me until I promised to play Rock-Paper-Scissors with him again.'

Training consisted of finding that damned cat, _again_! Although Naruto couldn't really blame it, the Fire Lord's wife really did seem to smother it, the poor cat. But a mission was a mission, and Naruto didn't like failing.

Even if it meant that stupid cat clawed at his face like the vicious beast that it is.

After the mission Naruto walked home, trying to keep to the drier parts of the street so that he wouldn't have to feel the mud between his toes two days in a row. He quickly made his way to his apartment, depositing his muddy sandals right by the door and walking into his kitchen to make some ramen.

He had just begun boiling the water for it when he noticed a small folded piece of paper on the table. His eyebrows rose slightly as he grabbed and unfolded it, curiosity brimming within him.

Dear Naruto-kun,

I figured that since Sakura interrupted our time alone, that you might want to meet up with me again, after your mission tomorrow, just come to the top Hokage Mountain, I'll be waiting there for you at 12:00.

Haku

'I guess I didn't notice the note this morning.' Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose thoughtfully before glancing at his clock. 'Oh _fuck_!' It was 11:58.

In a blur of orange Naruto left his apartment, ramen forgotten.

Haku sighed before looking at his watch, 12:06 and still no sign of Naruto. 'I guess he just didn't want to come.' He got up to leave, frown marring his beautiful features, when he was suddenly glomped onto from behind.

"Sorry (gasp)… I'm late…(pant) Haku…" Naruto said unsteadily as he let go of older boy, Haku turned around, smiling slightly at the blonde. He was panting and flushed, as if he'd just run a marathon.

Or had some really good sex, but Haku was pretty sure it was closer to the first option.

"It's okay, you're here now." Haku sat back down while Naruto collapsed beside him.

"It's really beautiful up here, it's so peaceful, and you can see the entire village." Naruto nodded, still attempting to catch his breath.

"So Naruto-kun, is there anything you want to talk about?" Haku asked, trying to break the blonde's uncharacteristic silence, but Naruto just shook his head, his breathing becoming more even.

They sat there in a tense silence, Haku no longer sure how to start up a conversation, and Naruto really wanting to say something. Finally, when the silence became too much to handle Naruto asked. "So Haku, why did you and Zabuza decide to come to Konoha?" Haku's cheeks went pink. "Well, for a variety of reasons really, but there's one really important one." Naruto's eye glinted with curiosity. "Really? What?" Haku motioned him closer and whispered lowly in his ear. "You."

Naruto froze, a blush slowly spreading across his face. 'Does that mean Haku likes me too?'

Haku began o move away, but Naruto would have none of that, with a small swoop forward he got ride of the space between them and pressed his lips to Haku's.

It was a fumbling kiss, and just a bit awkward, but it was perfect.

They broke away reluctantly, shyly meeting each other's eyes.

They walked back to their building holding hands, their cheeks a light pink, and small smiles on their faces.

Until they saw a small pillar of smoke rising from their building, from Naruto's room to be exact.

It's seems that after his kettle, boiling water for his ramen, had run out of water, it had tipped over, fallen on a piece of paper, which had burt into flames from the heat, and had caused a small fire.

Thankfully Zabuza had been moseying around, wondering where the hell Haku had gone to, and had noticed the smell of smoke.

Naruto's front door was in absolute shambles! And so was his kitchen! But at least the rest of his apartment was okay, except for the overwhelming smell of smoke that had seeped into all of his furniture.

Naruto and Haku were sitting on the couch, Naruto's eyes glazed in shock and Haku was subtly motioning Zabuza to leave, the older man gave a wink a left. Freaky.

"I can't believe I did that. I actually forgot about my ramen." Haku arched an eyebrow. "Oh? Do you really like ramen?" Naruto nodded his head vigourusly. "But I forgot all about it 'cause when I read you note it was like, three minutes to twelve and I didn't want to be late meeting up with you."

Haku'a face was suddenly close to his. "So I'm more important to you than ramen?" Naruto nodded vigorously again, and Haku swooped down for a very enjoyable kiss.


	4. NejiNaru

Warnings: Spoilers for stuff after the final part of the Chuunin exam.

Pairing: Naji/Naru, small mention of Kaka/Iru

Summery: He had freed him from the darkness, it was only fair that he show some appreciation.

Genre: Romance, WAFF

Rating: PG, nothing really bad is in it.

""-speech

''-thoughts

Dark, it had always been so dark, ever since his father had died, ever since he learned about his place in the branch family... Ever since he was born. His hypothetical darkness loomed about him like a black aura, obscuring his vision and hiding him from the world. It was during the final leg of the Chuunin exams that he saw a glimmer of _something_.

Some might say it was the boy's sunshine hair, or his eyes catching the light, but Neji knew at once it was the boy's confidence, his pure, untouched aura, and it became even brighter as he fought the boy.

It was as he, Neji, the prodigy of his clan, lost, that the boy, Uzumaki Naruto made his statement about how he was never able to properly do Bunshin no Jutsu, and how Neji could decide his own fate.

It was then that he could feel the darkness around him vanish; he could feel the sun on his face. For the first time in the years since his father died, Neji felt content.

From that day on he trained harder than ever before, telling himself it was because he wanted to defeat the blonde, but deep in the recesses of his mind, he knew it was all just a front. He wanted to see the blonde again. To become his friend.

It wasn't until Sasuke had run off that he was able to see Naruto again, his heart fluttered like the wings of a caged bird. But that was all behind him now, and the wounds he had received from Kidomaru's arrows had healed long ago. Just as the wounds Naruto had received from Sasuke had healed.

'Sasuke.' Neji clenched his fist at the mere thought of the boy. 'Why? How could you hurt Naruto so much?'

Neji could see it, with every day that passed, Naruto's smiles became more forced, his eyes became more dull. Many were fooled by the mask Naruto had put in place of his real expression, but Neji could not be deceived like that.

Naruto had done so much for him, so much that Neji felt it would be nearly impossible to pay the blonde back, but Neji knew the one thing he could do that would make everything better.

He would make Naruto happy. He would make the boy smile a real smile once more.

He would make Naruto forget that Sasuke had ever betrayed him.

It would not be an easy task, Naruto and the traitor had been close, and Neji was not nearly as close as Sasuke used to be, and still was, but he was determined to see those bright blue eyes shine with happiness again.

'Naruto, I'll heal your heart, I promise.'

Getting close to Naruto wasn't all too hard, the boy was willing to be friends with anyone if they gave him a chance. But if Neji ever brought up the topic of Sasuke, Naruto's reaction was the same every time.

"I'll bring him back! Even if I have to drag him kicking and screaming from the Sound!"

Naruto trusted Sasuke to much, still believing that Sasuke was his friend even after he left.

But there was still a shadow of doubt and hurt in his eyes, as if a disembodied voice always whispered the truth in his ear.

_Sasuke wasn't coming back, Sasuke was a traitor, Sasuke was not his friend. _

In all of his life Neji did not believe he would ever care if someone slipped into a darkness like his, struggling everyday to find a purpose in life, fighting against the cruel fate bestowed upon them.

But Naruto was slipping away, and Neji would not allow him to shatter because of reality's games.

He had freed him from the darkness, it was only fair that he show some appreciation. So then, on a cloudless night, in a small grove of trees, he confronted the blonde.

"Naruto." The boy looked up from his place of the ground, his eyes were rimmed red and his cheeks were moist.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Neji knelt down next to the boy, reaching out and cupping the boy's cheek lightly.

"Nothing and everything, all at once." Neji frowned, his thumb brushing over the horizontal scars on Naruto's face.

"What do you mean?" Naruto bit his lip nervously and Neji brought his hand from Naruto's visage. "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to." 'Please tell me. I want to help.'

Naruto began playing with the hem of his shirt awkwardly, mouth pursing into a frown as he tried to find the right words to say.

Neji watched closely, Naruto's body language told him all he needed to know, the blonde would begin talking soon.

"Neji, it's just that. I think I've lost hope and faith in Sasuke and that he'd come back. I thought he'd realize that Orochimaru was just using him for his body, for his eyes. But he hasn't come back. And I don't think he ever will." Naruto stifled a sob as he curled in upon himself, Neji watching with sad eyes.

"Naruto, you cannot expect Sasuke to come back, when he left, he left for good." "Yes, I guess so, but still, I always believed that one day he'd come back… Come back to me. But he won't, will he? He cares about power and revenge more then he'll ever care for me." They way Naruto said it, his voice quivering and unsure, it was enough for Neji himself to feel a small stab of pain in his heart.

"Did you love him?" Blue eyes snapped open and looked wildly into Neji's pearl coloured eyes before a whimsical smile appeared on his lips.

"I might have, long ago when I would have denied it furiously, but now… I cannot love someone who would abandon me, Sakura, all of Konoha, just to kill his brother."

"I see…" Neji stared up at the sky as the boy beside him stared at the trees, silence covered them like a warm, comfortable blanket that they quickly embraced.

They stayed that way till morning, taking comfort in the presence of each other. But when the sun rose, Neji left, the wheels in his mind turning furiously.

If Naruto had once loved Sasuke, then when Sasuke left Naruto's hope for any reciprocation would have been shattered. Naruto's need for love from Sasuke, whether friendly or romantic, would have been completely shattered.

And so Neji came upon the conclusion that Naruto needed love, other might have easily dismissed this, but Neji did not, could not. Naruto had become import to him. A friend.

And so Neji sought Naruto out the following night, finding him once again in the small at the very outskirts of the forest near Konoha.

He walked up to the blonde and sat down beside him, words forming in his head, but never reaching his lips. It was the first time he could remember being this _nervous_. He was just about to being some awkward phrase or another, but Naruto beat him to it.

"Last night, I think I realized something." Neji pursed his lips together, listening closely as Naruto turned to him.

"I think I did love Sasuke, like a brother, or maybe more. But now he's gone, and I have no one to love. Iruka-sensei is to busy with Kakashi-sensei to really take care of me like before. I know he loves me like his little brother, but-" Naruto glanced down; Neji was lightly stroking his fingers over the blonde's hand, before grasping it in his own. Naruto blushed a bit before continuing. "But it just doesn't seem like enough anymore. Does that make me greedy Neji?"

Neji hands tightened around Naruto's. "No. Everyone desires love, and you need love just as much as anyone else. You are not greedy for wanting something you deserve." Naruto smiled and blushed lightly, looking down at their interlocked hands.

"You're very talkative when you're around me. More than usual anyways. I guess It's cause I'm more quiet when we're alone, huh?" "No. I just like talking to you."

Naruto looked so genuinely shocked that Neji couldn't help but chuckle.

They sat in silence for a while, neither moving to separate their hands. It was later on in the night, when the moon was just beginning to lower itself, that Naruto spoke up again.

"Neji?" "Yes?" Naruto turned to him, a determined look on his face. "Can I kiss you?"

Neji certainly wasn't going to say no, in fact, he was the one who leaned in, capturing the blonde's lips with his.

'Feel my love Naruto. My love that burns for you.'

It was a sweet kiss, full of awkward moments and far from perfect. But during it, Naruto felt loved and Neji felt tranquil, it was their first kiss, and it was wonderful in itself.

So as they moved closer to each other, Naruto's head resting gently on Neji's shoulder as he began to finally drift off to sleep, just as the sun was about to rise, Neji couldn't help but snake an arm around Naruto's shoulders and pull him closer.

'You saved me from my darkness Naruto, and I'm happy that you'll allow me to save you from yours.'


	5. KibaNaru

Warnings: Does not take place in any particular timeline, the beginning starts off a little slow. On a side note, the Hidden Rain and Grass are just a bit north-east of the Leaf, I'm not sure how long it would actually take them to get there, but it's closer then the Sand but still fairly far away, so I'm just saying it takes about a day.

Pairing: Kiba/Naru

Summery: Neither of them were very good at following orders, but that's not always a bad thing.

Genre: Romanca, a dash of drama

Rating: R for a couple 'mature' parts.

""-speech

''-thoughts

Sometimes, when he was bored and had nothing else to do, Kiba would talk to Akamaru, who usually fell asleep within the first five minutes, but that was beside the point. Kiba would talk about anything and everything, topics ranging from training to family matters. But he hardly ever strayed from his favorite topic. You see, Kiba was never good at following orders, and he was more likely to do something just to piss you off then do what you said. He just liked the sweet mix of anger, shock and fear that people had on their face when he disobeyed them. He would never do it on a mission, or do it to seriously hurt someone; in fact he hardly did it anymore, but there was just too much curiosity inside of him when his mother first said. "I don't want you to ever go near that boy." Naturally Kiba ignored her and started paying attention to the blonde, playing with him on the swings, talking with him, watching him grow older. Then blonde then began getting loud, annoying and one day Kiba just stopped, until Naruto started to become even more interesting, and there was always that lingering need to break the rules, to get closer to the blonde than anyone ever had. This is why Akamaru always fell asleep, he couldn't stand listening to Kiba go on about his non-existent love life.

Sometimes, when he couldn't sleep and the only sounds he heard was the beating of his heart and his own breathing, Naruto would think. He would think of many things, current prank projects, how to beat Sasuke-teme, how to win the affections of Sakura-chan, but sometimes, when he ran out of interesting topics to think about, he would dwell upon his past. It wasn't that dark of a subject, because he'd only think of one thing, a lost friend. Back then he had no dream to be Hokage, he'd been quiet and shy, Kiba had been his complete opposite, then he found his goal, his reason to live, he became the person he was now, but Kiba was never the same to him again. And sometimes, just as Naruto fell asleep, a tear would track down his cheek.

"Good morning Sakura-chan… Eh?" Blue eyes widened, mouth opening to an 'o' shape, surprise showing clearly on his face, he pointed a finger angrily and said. "What are you guys doing here!" There stood the rest of team 7 and team 8, well, excluding Kakashi of course. "Naruto, be nice!" Sakura commanded, Naruto frowned but nodded, falling into place beside Sakura, unaware that his passive reaction had caused a fair bit of jealousy to swell inside of Kiba's stomach, but before Kiba could react to said jealousy there was a 'poof' sound above him."

"Yo, sorry I'm late, I had to save a drowning-" "LIAR!" Sakura and Naruto yelled angrily, glaring up at him.

Kurenai stepped forward sending a small glare over to where Kakashi was perched. "We'll explain the mission on the way, we can't waste anymore time." Kakashi nodded and in a flash the teachers were off followed closely by their students.

"We are going to an onsen in a small town just outside of the Hidden Rain and Hidden Grass Villages. Young girls have been disappearing from this location and it is believed that they had been kidnapped and taken to an underground slave ring." Kakashi said solemnly. "But Kakashi-sensei, why are they here!" Naruto practically yelled, Kurenai turned to him and answered.

"Hinata's eyes can see into many private places, Akamaru and Kiba would be able to track down anyone who goes missing, and Shino's bugs can go virtually anywhere." "Paired up with Sasuke's skills, Sakura's mind power and you, Naruto, we can't fail." Naruto stopped, looking at Kakashi oddly. "What am I bringing to this mission?" Kakashi grinned and leaned close. "Your own secret weapon."

(Small Time Lapse)

"But how do you know about Orioke no Jutsu? I never used it on you!" Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "That may be so, but when you're capable of knocking someone out from one simple transformation, well, word gets around."

Naruto thought this over a minute before asking. "I'm not going to be naked the entire time am I? Or should I just henge myself some clothes." "No, we'll be buying your girl form a few sets of clothes once we get into the town, if you henged your outfits then you'd be wasting too much chakra." Kurenai nodded in agreement. "Kakashi will be helping you pick things out." She said in a monotone voice while Naruto sent a suspicious look Kakashi's way.

'I think I'd rather be naked then wear whatever he picks out for me.'

The group set up camp at sunset where Kurenai want over the rules. There seemed to be an awful lot of them and Naruto was glad he hadn't been part of Kurenai's team, he'd have never survived!

"We will rise at dawn and make our way to the town, Naruto, you'll have to transform before we get there. You and Kakashi will then find clothes for your female form while the rest of us go to the onsen. I expect the both of you to be there at noon." She threw a small glare in Kakashi's direction, as if to say, I dare you to be late. "We are spending a week at this onsen, the first two days we will single out suspicious activity, we will then have Naruto interact with the suspects, Naruto, if any of them try to persuade you to their room, go, don't worry, we'll be able to find you, it's impossible for you to get lost with these three one your side." She gestured to her team and Naruto nodded slowly.

"But… Why can't an actual girl do this?" Naruto asked slowly, Sakura, Hinata or even Kurenai would surely be able to catch the attention of the criminals, couldn't they?

"All of the missing girls were very… Hour glass shaped, and if the rumors of your Orioke no Jutsu are true at all, then you'll catch the eyes of these creeps in no time." Naruto blinked. "Err… Thanks… I think…"

They woke up at dawn and once again were traveling at a quick pace, it had been nearly two hours before Kurenai drew back beside Naruto, quietly telling him to henge. Naruto nodded, brought his hands together to form the seal and whispered. "Henge!" And then, slowly emerging from the clouds around 'her' Naruto winked at Kakashi, who seemed to be staring quite a bit, making Kiba jealous. Even in the orange jumpsuit, Naruto was a perfect balance of sexy and cute as a girl, the perfect bait.

They reached the town at 8:57 am and Kurenai proptley gave their order, Kakashi and Naruto would purchase several outfits and would then follow the worn path up to the hot springs resort.

"It's a thirty minute walk, don't attempt to go to fast, from now on, we are merely travelers, not ninjas of the Leaf." She removed her headband and Naruto watched as everyone did the same before removing her own. Kakashi merely flipped his around so that the cool metal rested against his face, but Naruto supposed he didn't want to give up his cool aura.

"I expect you to be at the hot springs by at least noon, no later." She gave a withering glare to Kakashi before she and the others went inside the town gates, Naruto watched them leave, eyes squinting.

"Oi Kakashi-sensei, why is Kurenai-sensei so serious?" "Well Naruto, most women are like that, it gets even worse when they get a visit from 'Aunt Flow', then they're permanently pissed off, no matter what you do." Naruto blinked and tilted 'her' head to the side. "Does every girl have an Aunt named Flow?"

Kakashi sighed. "Never mind, you'll find out some day, for now, let's get you some clothes."

Shopping went fairly well, even though Kakashi would sometimes suggest some things Naruto absolutely refused to wear. And then they had to get 'her' a bra, which was a horribly embarrassing experience, and Naruto absolutely refused to wear woman's underwear!

"But you can't wear boxers with a mini skirt."

"I don't care! I draw the line at female underwear!"

"It's not like we're making you wear a thong." Naruto shuddered at the very idea of wearing one. "Just a few panties that's all! Come on, I'll show you what's beneath my mask." Naruto glared at him before dryly replying. "Me, Sasuke and Sakura-chan already know what's behind your mask. Another mask." "Oh yeah, I forgot about that one time." Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled to himself. "But you know, if _we_ don't leave soon, _we'll_ be late, _we_ can't leave until you have everything you need and if _we're_ late, then _we'll_ have to deal with an _angry_ Kurenai."

Naruto paled considerably and Kakashi grinned. 'Bingo.'

Kurenai was standing outside waiting for them when they arrived, gone was her normal outfit and in its place was a simple red kimono, the same colour as her eyes.

She quickly ushered them in to what used to be a thriving onsen, now all but deserted.

Kurenai lead Naruto down a diminutive hallway, the actual rooms were small and few in number since just one day at the hot springs was normal, but the thin hallways seemed to stretch on forever as he followed Kurenai in silence. She stopped abruptly and turned around, speaking in hushed tones.

"You must stay in your female form whenever outside your room, and remember, if someone shows interest in you, reciprocate it." She then slipped a key into Naruto's hand before doubling her earlier pace and turning at the next corner. Naruto stood alone in the hallway, Kakashi having slipped away as soon as he entered the building. Naruto turned to the door beside 'her' and unlocked it.

It was a small, plain looking room, made for comfort, not luxury, but at least there was a proper bed even if it did take up a third of the space.

Naruto walked forward, dropping the bags on the bed and with a sigh and a small 'poof' of clouds he became a boy once again.

Naruto flopped down beside his supplies, warily eyeing a piece of paper that had been left on his pillow. He picked it up and held it in front of his face, frowning. How the hell many instructions did Kurenai feel it would be good to give him! His eyes lazily scanned the page, looking for anything interesting, most of these rules had been told to him already. The only important information was scrawled and the very end of the list.

_Meet me at the women's side of the hot springs in disguise tomorrow morning at 5:00, I will then give you the information collected so far._

'What am I supposed to do, just stay in my room all day? I think not!'

He stepped out into the deserted hallway, scanning carefully to make sure no one was around before confidently striding out of his room and into the small hallway, turning around the corner Kurenai had ten minutes prior.

'And if anyone catches me, I'll just say I'm looking around so I know where everything is. Ha! It's the perfect plan, as if anyone will catch me, they're all at the hot springs gatherin-'

"Naruto!" A hand grabbed the neck of his jumpsuit and dragged him into another bland, small room.

Naruto felt himself being turned around to face Kiba, only flinching slightly when he saw the anger on the other boy's face. After a long period of silence where all Naruto could hear was the other boy's heavy breathing he decided to lamely ask.

"Why aren't you at the springs gathering information?" Kiba's anger melted away to be replaced by exasperation, he gave a small sigh before answering, "It would be suspicious if we all went in at once. But that doesn't explain why you were out wandering the halls when you're not the girl."

Naruto pouted and turned away. "Orioke no Jutsu is not meant to be a long lasting technique! I don't want to be seen as a girl for long periods of time!" 'And I don't like the idea of being the bait either!'

Kiba sighed and sat down on the bed besides a dozing Akamaru, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. It was only then that Naruto realized, with morbid fascination, that Kiba wasn't wearing a shirt.

But he quickly fought down the blush that wanted to make itself known due to that information and shyly asked, "Kiba?" Kiba made a grunting sound in reply. "Why did you stop being my friend, back when we were little?" "You became really annoying." "Oh…"

Kiba glanced up and inwardly cursed, Naruto stood there looking as if the whole world just declared it hated him. He looked like that back before Kiba became friends with him too. 'Dammit, I shouldn't have said that.'

"Look Naruto-" "No, its okay, I understand. I'll just go back to my room now." He opened the door and silently shut it behind him, Kiba cursed himself and quickly stood up and made his way into the hallway, mere steps away from the hurt blonde ahead of him.

"Naruto." The blonde slowly turned around and Kiba couldn't help himself, he wrapped his arms around Naruto and held him close. The boy always looked like he needed a hug.

"Look Naruto, I'm sorry," He whispered into the blonde's hair. "But you can't just walk around out of disguise, I don't know about Kakashi-sensei, but Kurenai-sensei is as strict as they get, so you'd better remember to follow her rules, okay?" He could feel Naruto nod his head and slowly let the boy out of his embrace.

"I have to get going to the springs now, don't make to much trouble for yourself." Kiba said as lightheartedly as he could before turned and stiffly walked to the springs. 'It felt so nice to hold him close. I hope he accepted my apology, I don't want to hurt him again.'

Naruto watched Kiba disappear with hazy eyes, people hardly ever hugged him, Iruka-sensei used to, but didn't anymore…

Naruto liked being held.

So as he made his way to his room, dimly aware that Kiba was right and he had become a bit annoying, he wrapped his arms around himself, wishing he could be held again.

It was a long wait until five in the morning, Naruto had hardly slept at all, his mind racing around and his heart beating loudly as he wondered why Kiba's embrace had effected him so much. But he could no longer dwell on the topic as he tore himself from the bed, transforming and lazily putting on some of the clothes Kakashi had picked out.

Naruto hated mornings.

Kurenai raised an eyebrow as she observed Naruto's appearance. White knee high socks, a short denim skirt with a flower design at the bottom made of rhinestones, and then a light blue tank top that hardly covered Naruto's well toned stomach.

'At least he remembered to get a bra.' Kurenai coughed lightly at her thought before straightening up again.

"Alright Naruto, other than our group there are six others here, the two females who are here have come here with their boyfriends, sure that they'd never let anything happen to them."

"So… There's only two suspects left?" "Maybe, one of the girls that Sakura was talking with had been in a relationship with her boyfriend for a long time. But the other girl has just gotten together with her boyfriend, so the could also be a suspect."

Naruto frowned. "But Kurenai-sensei, what if the three of them are working together?" "No, these are one person missions. If you send one person to do something where twenty others came be blamed for it, then it's safer then sending five people to do it. The less people they send to take away these girls, the easier it is for them to slip away unnoticed." Naruto nodded in understanding and absentmindedly fiddled with the hem of her skirt.

"So what am I to do today Kurenai-sensei?" "Today you are going into the hot springs, do whatever it is you normally do in this form to catch the males attention, the fence that separates the male side from the female side is fairly low and easy to see over. I'm sure if you make enough of a racket the perpetrator will take a look over the fence and set his sights on you." Kurenai brushed past her and Naruto turned around to watch the teacher leave.

"Sakura and Hinata will meet you at the springs at nine." The black haired woman glanced behind her and with a small smile said. "And remember Naruto, no peeking."

Naruto stood there, mind slowly processing all the information given to him. 'Three suspects eh? Well, I guess the easiest way to sort them out is to see if that one guy is completely faithful to his girlfriend.' Naruto yawned. 'I'd better get my beauty sleep before I'm put out on display; lively girls are much more attractive than lazy girls.'

"NARUTOOO! DON'T LOOK YOU PERVERT!" "Sakura-chaaaaan! I'm not looking!" "You'd better not be, dammit!"

Naruto nervously covered his female form with the rather skimpy towel. 'Damn, Sakura-chan sure does overreact to things.' Naruto slowly stepped out of the changing rooms and into the outdoor hot spring complex. He starred in open mouth shock at the hot springs before he glanced at the low, rickety fence and remembered that he had some acting to do.

"Woowww! It's so pretty here, sugoi!" Naruto walked around the rocks, making sure to take the path closest to the fence. "I love hot springs, they're so nice and relaxing, right Sakura-chan?" Naruto glanced over her shoulder, 'accidentally' catching sight of the males in the spring next to theirs. He vaguely noticed that Kiba and Sasuke looked ready to kill something and that Kakashi and Shino were nowhere to be found, but pushed that thought into the back of his mind.

"Good morning guys, out to enjoy the hot springs to?" Naruto tilted his head to the side, a move he knew made most men inwardly, or outwardly scream. 'Kawaii!'

"Yes we are Miss-" "Naruto! My name is Naruto." She smiled at the man who responded to her. He was mid aged with short black hair and angular jade eyes. Naruto came closer to the fence, which went up to a couple inches below her shoulders.

'Alright, time to work it.' Naruto undid the knot he had done at the top of his towel and watched with fake fascination as it fell to the ground.

"Oops, my towel just fell off!" Out of the corner of his eye he noticed The man with the jade eyes blushed heavily while the other nameless man had suddenly stiffened, his dark grey eyes immediately on 'her'. Naruto swooped down and grasped the towel, placing it on the fence. "Oh well, it's so much nicer to enjoy the water naked, don't you think?"

"Uh… I suppose so…" The jade eyed man replied and Naruto giggled cutely. "I like you, you're sweet. Buh bye!"

During his entire time in the hot springs Naruto was sure to be overheard whenever he talked about the Jade eyed man, simple comments like.

"He's sweet, don't you think Sakura-chan?" And, "He has really nice eyes, ne Hinata-chan?"

Naruto was practically falling asleep by the time they heard people getting out of the springs on the other side of the fence. He lazily looked over to the fence only to find Kiba and Sasuke motioning for them to get out of the water.

Naruto did so lazily, making sure to grab the towel on his way back to the changing room. 'Mmm, I like hot springs, nice and relaxing…'

They had all gathered up in Sasuke's room and were going over any gathered information.

"Kimi and Usagi decided to spend the day with their boyfriends, so Kakashi and Kurenai posed as a couple and the six of them went into town for ice cream or something."

Naruto had to hold in his laughter at the thought of Kakashi and Kurenai as a couple.

"So Sasuke-kun, who were those other men in the springs?" "The one Naruto was shamelessly hitting on was Daisuke Kaysuo, and the guy with the grey eyes and red hair was Juro Hotaka." Sasuke smirked a little. "I'm not sure if we have to worry about Juro though, just before you girls came out he started hitting on me and Kiba."

'Oh, so that's why they both looked so mad.' "But where did Shino go?"

"Don't worry about him, he's just looking around the place, checking it out with his bugs, speaking of which…" Kiba glanced over at Hinata, who nodded and left. "Hinata's going to be searching the rooms, trying to find any sort of trap doors or secret passageways."

"So that means that Daisuke is currently our main suspect, right Sasuke-kun?" "It seems like it. But we should still consider Juro a threat, his sexuality has nothing to do with his job, and he did react when Naruto pulled that towel stunt."

"So does that mean we're going to exclude Kimi and Usagi's boyfriends from our suspect list?" "For now, unless either of them-"

'This is getting really boring, I don't care who's gonna try and steal me away or whatever, I just wanna go into those nice hot springs again.' Naruto flopped back onto the back, ignoring whatever Sasuke and Sakura were chatting about, eyes beginning to close under dark, feathery eyelashes. Only to snap open when Kiba started poking him in the ribs. "Stop it!" He whispered angrily. "You should try and pay attention, this is important." Kiba whispered back before excusing himself from the conversation, saying that he had to get Akamaru out if the room and walk him.

Naruto left soon after, Sasuke and Sakura's sharing of information didn't interest him much anyways.

The next day was a lot like the last, Naruto going to the wall and flirting with Daisuke and occasionally Juro before casually jumping into the springs and making sure to be heard whenever comments of the men next to them passed from the full pink lips of his transformation.

Naruto found himself just wanting to pry the answers out of the men so that he wouldn't have to be in his transformed state anymore. He was used to a quick transformation, maybe doing Harem no Jutsu and the glomping onto the man he was try to 'defeat', flirting really wasn't his type of thing.

But apparently he was fairly good at it, since Daisuke had been waiting for 'her' outside the change rooms and requested to speak with her.

Naruto agreed and Daisuke took her hand, leading her _somewhere_. And Naruto nervously wondered if anyone was going to bother to follow him to make sure he was safe. 'Probably not.'

He was brought into a room that was an exact replica of his own, and heard Daisuke lock the door behind him. 'Shit, if that's not a bad sign, I don't know what is.'

"Ano Dai-san, why did you lock the door?" Naruto asked, making his eyes as wide as possible, tilting his head to the side, watching carefully and Daisuke blushed.

'If he is our target, I'll find out now! He'll knock me unconscious and drag me away and all that stuff! Someone had better be looking out for me!'

"Naruto-chan, ever since that day we met-" "You mean yesterday?" "Yes. Ever since yesterday, I had this feeling deep inside of me." Daisuke came closer, towering over Naruto's girl form until he bent down to be face to face with 'her', his jade eyes boring into Naruto's sapphire.

"Naruto-chan, I don't know much about you, and you don't know much about me, but still, every time I see you, all wide eyed and innocent with your voluptuous young body, I want to take you."

"Uh… Take me where?" 'To your secret hideout where you took all those other girls, right!'

Daisuke grinned and put his hands on Naruto's shoulders, his face looming closer. "You're so innocent Naruto-chan, I want to show you what I mean." "O-okay."

'Why is he coming closer? Shouldn't he be knocking me out and taking me away to the secret underground slave ring right now? Wait… WHY IS HE KISSING ME?'

Small, delicate hands clenched in agitation, the mantra of

'He'llkidnapmesoonhe'llkidnapmesoonhe'llkidnapmesoon…' Raced through Naruto's head it was only when he felt some small and wet brush against his lips did he react to the kiss.

By quickly and efficiently knocking Daisuke out.

"Dammit! What if he was gonna kidnap me after he kissed me!" Naruto ran a hand nervously though the long, shiny hair of his transformation as he paced around the room, frowning.

"I'll have to pretend that I didn't knock him out then, but… What if he wants to kiss me again?" Naruto's eyes widened in horror at the thought. "Ewwww…."

He slipped out of the room, silently closing the door behind him, and made his way back to his own room, where he quickly dispelled the female illusion.

'God damn it all!'

The next day he couldn't stomach flirting with Daisuke, and instead tried to get a reaction out of Juro, pouting and playfully asking if he was that serious during sex when he couldn't seem to get a reaction from the man.

Juro simply replied that sex was a lot different than being hit on by little girls.

Daisuke, for the whole conversation, had been staring at Naruto with _something_ glinting in his eyes. Naruto didn't want to know what that _something_ was.

He had just begun relaxing when Sakura moved over near him a whispered. "Why didn't you flirt with Daisuke today? Did something happen yesterday when he wanted to talk to you?" Naruto couldn't tell Sakura what had happened, he'd broken the, 'If someone shows interest in you, reciprocate it' rule.

"Don't worry about it Sakura-chan, I just need to be sure that I'm luring both of them, we're still not sure who's working for the slave ring, so I have to make sure I catch both of their attentions." Sakura nodded, wading over to the other side of the springs where Hinata sat, quiet and still.

Naruto slid down further into the water when two new voices made themselves known to his ears.

"Ah! Good afternoon Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan." "Hello Kimi, where's Usagi today?" The girl named Kimi slipped into the water with a sigh, her long purple hair floating over the surface of the water. "Usagi doesn't feel very good today, so she and Shinya have decided to go home early. It's not much of a loss; me and Kyo are leaving this evening." "Oh, well I guess this is your last chance to enjoy the hot springs for a while then eh?" "Yeah."

Kimi sunk lower into the water and Naruto's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

'So then than means it is either Juro or Daisuke. Hmmm. Well, Daisuke did say something about taking me somewhere, and Juro has never really shown any interest… But still, I don't want to be kissed by Daisuke again, the whole experience was kind of creepy.' Naruto quickly got out of the springs, not bothering to make any flirtatious comments on the way back to the changing room. Tomorrow would be their fifth day there, and Naruto didn't want to draw out any sort of freaky confrontation any more than he had too.

And that was why hours later, to his utter horror, he found himself walking towards Daisuke's room. He stood there as his transformation, dressed up in a pair of khakis pants and a skimpy black bikini top.

Naruto would one day hurt Kakashi for his taste in female clothing, but that was still a while away, he had to finish this first.

He never noticed that someone was following him.

He knocked on the door softly, fidgeting as a half asleep Daisuke opened it, his jade eyes widening considerably when he saw the little nymph in front of him.

"Uh, Dai-san, about last night, well, you see…" A blush spread out over Naruto's face while he inwardly screamed at himself for being so tongue tied.

"It's alright Naruto-chan, want to come inside?" Said the spider to the fly.

Daisuke locked the door once again and Naruto was silently preying that Daisuke would make his true intentions known. He had to be the kidnapper!

"I'm not sure what happened yesterday, but I'm sure that tonight will be much more memorable." Naruto nodded nervously, kidnapping was memorable, right? He suddenly was very unsure. 'This definitely wasn't a good idea.' But it was far too late to back out now. This was it, if Daisuke didn't kidnap him now, then it must be Juro who was behind it all.

But if Daisuke didn't kidnap him, then Naruto might have to deal with Daisuke kissing him again.

"Naruto-chan." Arm wrapped around Naruto from behind and he stiffened as Daisuke's lips pressed against the hollow of his throat.

"Dai-san, what are you doing?" "Making you feel good." His hands moved from 'her' shoulders down to 'her' breasts, gently cupping 'her' full breasts. Naruto couldn't help the small gasp that left his lips at the contact.

"Tonight Naruto-chan, tonight I am going to make love to you." 'Wait… WHAT?' Naruto turned around, mouth opening and ready to scream his lungs out, but Daisuke was one step ahead and eagerly sealed their lips together.

"TSUGA!"

Kiba broke through the door, panting heavily, eyes narrowed down to tiny slits.

"Get you hands off of Naruto!" With a mighty punch to the side of his face, Daisuke flew into the wall, then slid down to the floor, unconscious.

Naruto quickly rid himself of his transformation, not caring at all that he was still in female clothing. Screw being a girl! Being sexually harassed was NOT worth it!

"Naruto, are you okay?" Naruto took an unsteady breath before throwing himself into Kiba's arms, knocking them both to the floor.

Unfortunately there was someone in the hallway, watching with a grin on his face.

"Well well well." Juro clicked his tongue as he grinned at the two boys a few feet away from him. "I thought something was rather odd of you _Naruto-chan_, if that is your real name." Naruto blushed a bit at that. "And now I see, right in front of my own eyes, that you really are a boy and a fairly attractive one no less." He took a step forward, uncaring of the growling sounds Kiba was making.

"You'll be a great prize, a beautiful young woman, and an adorable little boy all rolled into one." Kiba's growling became louder and Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"If you come with me willingly, I won't hurt your boyfriend, but I must warn you, I may not seem it, but I was once a ninja of the Hidden Grass, your skills could never compare to mine." Naruto's eyes widened, and he frowned, but he removed himself from Kiba, and slowly got up, whispering. "Get Hinata." Low enough for only Kiba to hear.

And then he and the man walked out the door, and Kiba was immediately running to Hinata's room, hoping that Naruto wouldn't disappear on him, wouldn't slip through his fingers like sand. He'd foolishly let go of Naruto once, and he'd be damned if he did it again.

Naruto, for his part, was slightly surprised that they were walking through the halls like civilized people, and was all too aware of the looks Juro was sending him. Naruto blushed and removed the bikini top, but the khaki pants were tight against his groin and hardly left anything to the imagination.

"You are calm for someone about to be dragged off into slavery." "Ha! I'd like to see you try and make a slave out of me! By the time we-" 'Wha the fuck!'

Juro was kissing him! What the hell was with this mission and people kissing him! Naruto pushed him away and Juro allowed Naruto to take a step back, but held on tightly to his wrist. "You have a fiery spirit, I like that." He whispered sensually before pushing Naruto into a dark room, hardly the size of a closet, and then he entered as well.

"Your friends will not find you here." 'Ha! That's what you think you bastard!' Was Naruto's thoughts, until they started moving. 'Oh my God, we're going down! Abandon ship!' A damp cloth was then placed over his face, he took a small breath out of surprise, and then began feeling woozy. 'Damn it, I hate my life.' And then he went unconscious.

When he awoke he was surrounded by white, horrible, bright white, the question: where am I dying on his lips when he felt himself being embraced by someone with short dark hair. "Kiba… What happened?" He asked, his voice cracking slightly.

"Naruto you idiot, you got me all worried!" Kiba wasn't letting go and Naruto was averse to pushing him away, he liked being hugged by Kiba.

"The mission, was the mission a success?" Kiba pulled back slightly, his face inches away from Naruto's. "Yeah, Juro was the main 'collector', but you'll never guess who the ring leader of this was, the owner of the onsen! Once we caught up with you and Juro Kurenai-sensei and Sakura got really pissed off, no one else had to do anything, those two just beat the living hell out of him until he confessed everything!"

Naruto smiled lightly. "That's good. Now I just have to slowly remove all the times I've been kissed this week out of my mind. I honest to God will never allow anyone to kiss me ever again."

It wasn't exactly a rule, but Kiba wanted to break it anyways, and Naruto, although shocked, was more than happy to reciprocate the gesture. Their tongues began clashing wildly, neither fully dominating the other as hands slid down clothed torsos, then reaching up under the shirts to travel back the way they came-

"E-hem. I would appreciate it if you didn't do anything to strenuous for a while." Tsunade said with a light cough, a light blush on her face, Shizune behind her was blushing a cherry red.

"And I mean it, Naruto was put out by a very strong solution, so don't do anything to drastic or strenuous. And don't mess up the sheets either! Doctor's orders."

The two women left the room, the scene they had just witness burning inside of their minds.

"Ano, Kiba?" "Yeah Naruto?" "By 'messing up the sheets', does she mean what I think she means?" Kiba grinned, holding Naruto close. "Probably." "Then I think we shouldn't mess up the sheets." "Oh, and what about her other rule?"

A thoughtful expression passed over Naruto's face. "Does it mean we can hug again?" "Oh, we'll do a lot more than hug." Naruto frowned. "You're beginning to sound like Daisuke."

Kiba nearly fell off the bed in shock.

"What? You do! Talking about all this weird stuff we're gonna do, I have no clue what you're talking about! And Daisuke did that too!" "Please don't compare me to that creep." Kiba asked dryly and Naruto blinked. "Alright." He opened his arms, asking silently for a hug and Kiba was obliged to give him one.

Just like he was obliged to give Naruto of firm kiss on the mouth, then soft kisses all over his face and down his neck, nipping and licking tenderly when he reached the collar bone.

If kissing was considered a strenuous activity, then they were both more than happy to break that rule together.

And Kiba was more than happy to teach Naruto what Tsunade meant by messing up the sheets, since it was obvious his mind wasn't on the same track as everyone else's.

Ah, the look on Tsunade's face was the best look Kiba had ever seen.

"NARRRUUUTTTOOOOOO!"

Ah, to break the rules, so amusing, so fulfilling, and so fun. Especially when your partner in crime was a mischievous blonde haired blue eyed vixen.

Breaking the rules was going to more fun from now on.

He could practically _see_ the look on his mother's face when he brought his _boyfriend_ home.

Ah, life was a sweet mixture of shock. Kiba loved it.


	6. ShikaNaru

Warnings: None that I can think of. FYI: They're still in the academy.

Pairing: Shika/Naru

Summary: Shikamaru was way too lazy to care about what the villagers said, what the other kids said, what his parents said, and that's what Naruto loved about him.

Genre: WAFF, Romance

Rating: PG 13 for swearing a couple of times, but if you exclude that this is a very G kind of fic.

""-speech

''-thoughts

'Too troublesome this, too bothersome that.' Naruto angrily mocked in his head. All he'd asked the _extremely_ lazy nin to so was help him with some homework! But _no_, Shikamaru just had to go watch those damned clouds of his all friggen day!

'He's just too lazy and uncaring!' Naruto huffed as he entered his apartment , kicking of his shoes before hurtling himself into his small living room and flopping on the couch. 'But, even if he's a bit of a frigid bitch sometimes, he still cares about me, right?'

Flashback

"Don't play with that boy." The parents would say to their children. "Don't play with him, he's stupid." The kids would say to their friends. "He's a monster, if you get too close he'll gobble you up." The villagers whispered among themselves, unaware that a small boy sitting alone in the sandbox could hear every word.

'No one's ever gonna wanna play with me.' The little boy thought in despair, tears filling up his sapphire eyes. 'No one's ever gonna lov-' He heard someone sit beside him and Naruto turned around in bewilderment. A boy his age was sitting beside him, wasn't afraid of him, wasn't tormenting him, wasn't- "Oi, stop staring at me." Naruto looked away and flushed. "S-sorry." He twiddled his thumbs, sneaking glances at the boy who was now laying down, staring up at the sky. The boy who didn't run away.

From then on, everyday at the park Naruto would be alone in the sandbox till the boy with the dark eyes and spiky ponytail came and laid down in the sand, staring up at the clouds, neither of them saying anything until one day when the curiosity was just too much to bear.

Naruto carefully turned to face the other boy and took a deep breath. "Why-why do you come over here, don't you want to play with the other kids?" The other boy glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and said nothing. "Well, are you gonna answer me or not!" Naruto asked angrily, the other boy sighed, turning his head so he could look Naruto in the eyes. "The other kids are too troublesome, but they never come over here."

Naruto grinned, he wasn't as annoying as the other kids! "My named is Uzumaki Naruto!" The other boy gave him a look before lazily drawling. "Nara Shikamaru."

End Flashback

"Damn it, I've definitely screwed up this time." Shikamaru muttered to himself as he made his way down the crowded streets of Konoha towards the apartment of a certain blonde haired, blue eyed cloud hater. Well, maybe not cloud hater, but the blonde had definitely stomped off in an over zealous fit of fury when Shikamaru chose cloud watching over helping Naruto with his homework. 'Like it would actually be helping him, he'd just copy my answers and forget anything he might have seen.'

Shikamaru sighed as Naruto's apartment finally came into view, dealing with Naruto when he was angry was _so_ troublesome. Sometimes he forgot why he even bothered…

… Then he'd see Naruto and remember why he bothered, each and every time…

'Gah, I'm acting like some sort of fanatical woman!' Had Shikamaru been more energetic, he would have bounded up the steps, boldly knocked on the door and then barged in, loudly proclaiming undying love or something like that for all to hear. But since he was rather lethargic, he figured anyone should feel special if he had just walked a whole 17 minutes and 39 seconds _just_ to apologize to them.

He was preparing himself for a, 'go away' or a, 'why aren't you cloud watching' or God forbid a, 'I have a date in a couple of minutes, go away, I need to get ready.' So it came as a bit of a surprise that when the door flung open he suddenly got an armful of blonde haired, blue eyed cloud hater.

"Hey Shikamaru, does this mean you've changed you mind and decided to help me!" Naruto asked excitedly. Shikamaru _wanted_ to say something like, 'that's too troublesome' or, 'but then I have to go _all_ the way back to my house' or even just a simple, 'no.' Instead he found himself saying.

"Yeah, whatever."

It definitely wasn't the smartest idea he ever had, now that he thought about it, because after Naruto had successfully copied the homework down he kept on asking stupid questions, mostly about why Shikamaru liked clouds so much.

Shikamaru would _love_ to give the blonde the answer, but decided it was best to keep _that_ information locked away.

Naruto was relentless in his efforts though, one had to give him credit, the boy never seemed to give up and could drive even the most indifferent person into insanity.

Shikamaru was doing a rather good job of ignoring most of the words coming out of the blonde's mouth when Naruto asked a question that Shikamaru felt somewhat obligated to answer.

"Why do like clouds more than me?"

It was said innocently enough, but Shikamaru could see the blonde was preparing himself for some harsh answer like 'because they're quiet', well, sometimes Shikamaru could surprise people too.

"Do you really think that?" Naruto nodded, eyes downcast and Shikamaru realized that this was one of those 'now or never' situations he had always tried so hard to avoid. 'Oh hell, what have I got to loose.'

"Naruto, do you want to know the reason I really like clouds so much?" He asked slowly and Naruto nodded energetically, with a long sigh Shikamaru began.

"I always heard the other kids talking about you, they were so loud and obnoxious that I really couldn't help over hearing them. And then, sometimes I'd hear the villagers talk about you as well. I didn't really care what they thought, since adults are prone to lying anyways." Shikamaru quickly scanned over Naruto's face, the boy was listening raptly so far…

"Then one day I saw you alone in the sandbox, so I went and sat down beside you, and I didn't really know what to say to you, so I just laid down and stared at the sky." A sort of confused look had made its way across the blonde's face, Shikamaru hoped that it wouldn't last for long and that Naruto would figure it out.

"Everyday I would stare at the clouds, and it wasn't long before I associated cloud watching as spending time with you… Every time I look at the clouds I think of you Naruto, and every time I look at the clouds, I love you more than ever." Shikamaru looked down at his hands, a small flush on his face, waiting for the rejection he was sure would come.

Speechless, Naruto was absolutely speechless, and it took quite a lot to get him into he frame of mind where no coherent sentences could be formed. Running though his mind over and over and again was the word- 'Love. Love? Love! Love.'

Shikamaru sighed, Naruto looked absolutely and utterly helpless. 'Well, I suppose that it could have been worse.' "I understand if you don't want to be around me for a while, but I'd really like it if our friendship coul-" "Did you mean it?" Shikamaru blinked for a moment. "Mean what?" Naruto fidgeted nervously. "That you love me?" A small smile spread over Shikamaru's lips. "Yes." "What about your parents, your friends, _everyone_." "Ch, as if I care about what they say."

Shikamaru had hardly finished talking when Naruto glomped onto him, and Shikamaru couldn't help but wrap his arms around the smaller boy, thinking about how this felt so right.

"Hey Shikamaru?" Naruto looked up into Shikamaru's face, a small blush forming on his cheeks. "I don't think I mind you watching the clouds so much anymore." Shikamaru scoffed. "Who needs the clouds when I have you?" Naruto smiled and lay his face against the crook of Shikamaru's neck.

'I think that this is the start of a beautiful relationship.'


	7. GaaNaru

Warnings: Some weird stuff going on, self mutilation, some angsty stuff, that's about it.

Pairing: Gaara/Naru

Summery: "We are the same, we need each other to survive." "I thought you didn't need anyone." "I didn't, until I met you."

Genre: Angst, Romance

Rating: PG 13 for self mutilation and some inappropriate stuff.

""-speech

''-thoughts

_Italics_-are kind of like another voice in Naruto's head, like a conscience, sort of.

Naruto remembered scornful faces, harsh whispers and sharp glares as he slept. He remembered kunai piercing his body, he remembered screaming, and then he remembered crying.

He always felt alone and cold as he relived his nightmare, his body refusing to wake up, punishing his with old memories meant to be forgotten, judging him because of the sins he never committed.

He remembered crying.

Pale green eyes snapped open, narrowing in both confusion and rage, something was amiss, he could feel it deep inside his gut. Black lined eyes looked out the window, there was no moon tonight and the stars provided little light on their own. Gaara slowly got up from his medative position. Something was not right, and he would find out why.

Deep inside his living nightmare, Naruto whimpered.

Mere hours later bright sunlight forced Naruto to pry his eyes open. He stared at the ceiling, blinking lazily. No missions today, nothing to do, no ramen to eat, no will to go out and buy ramen. No nothing.

'God I have a pathetic life.' Naruto huffed silently, not bothering to roll out of bed, there was no point, and, not for the first time in his life, Naruto wished he had more of a reason to live than just becoming Hokage to prove his worth. But he had people he needed to be strong for, his precious people. Iruka needed his smile and presence, constantly there assuring him that everything would be alright, Sasuke needed to be reminded he was a mortal, not some sort of God, he needed to be there for everyone, constantly smiling and energetic, wiping away their shadowy fears with the bright hue of his smile. Sometimes, he didn't want to smile anymore, he wanted to be the one who cried and screamed and was comforted and told that everything was all right. Sometimes he just wanted to go to sleep and never wake up.

His eyes slowly traveled form the ceiling, down to his bedside table; a stray kunai was resting upon its slightly dusty surface.

'I wonder…' _I wish…_ 'If for just a moment,' _That for eternity,_ 'I could do something,_' I could be someone, _'no one thought I could do.' _no one thought I was. _

Naruto lazily lifted his arm and grasped the knife, it felt cold and uncomfortable against his hand.

Naruto had always prided himself on having a spectacularly optimistic outlook on life, but now, optimism was turning to pessimism.

Even with the Kyuubi's chakra, could he ever really become Hokage, and even if he did, what was the chance that the villagers who hated him since before he could even crawl would accept him as their leader? Slim to none.

'It's not like I could to anything anyways, the fox's chakra would heal any wound before I bleed too much.' Naruto's eyes dulled a little before snapping open, throwing the kunai away from himself, watching with an odd fascination as it clattered to the floor.

'I can't be thinking like this! I will become Hokage! I will be respected! I will live through anything anyone tries to put me through!' But despite his inner reasoning, Naruto could not pull his eyes away from the kunai.

'I cannot be thinking about stuff like this!' _But so many people do it…_ 'It's wrong, and stupid, with no point at all._' Except show that my inner pain is far worse than people believe. _'What would people think about me?' _What have they thought of me for the past thirteen years? _'I can't.' "I won't."

But he was already out of bed, slowly making his way towards the sharpened metal on his floor.

'Kyuubi's chakra will heal me.' _No one has to know about it._ 'I just need some… Release.' _They'll never know what hides behind you're smile._

Naruto took hold of the kunai once more, cradling it close to his chest, eyes glazed over, a frown tugging at the corner of his mouth.

'They never have to know._' They wouldn't worry anyways._ 'The kunai will pierce my flesh, just like they want it too.' _But they won't know, your secret's safe._ 'They won't know.' Naruto held the kunai to his wrist, eyes blinking slowly, his face emotionless.

_They wouldn't care._

The first cut was shallow, hardly a scrape, and it healed within thirty seconds.

The next was more daring, deeper, drawing out more blood and healing less quickly, but still far to fast.

The next was a true cut, blood spilt forth quickly and Naruto was hypnotized by the sight of the deep red liquid flowing across his tanned skin. His flesh tingled as it healed itself, and Naruto cleaned the kunai off on his bed sheets.

He was fine, for now, no scar was left from the cuts he had made, no proof except for the blood staining his sleeve and his sheets.

Gaara clenched his fists, the only outward sign of his frustration, but it was enough to catch Temari's attention.

"Gaara?" He didn't respond to her, the redhead only turned and walked away. Temari followed after him relentlessly, a frown tugging at her lips. "Gaara, what's wrong?"

He didn't stop, he didn't answer her question, but at least he told her where he was going.

Konohagakure.

They didn't notice a thing, nothing seemed off to them. He was still his loud, happy self, he was still the Uzumaki Naruto they knew and felt mixed emotions for. They didn't know.

'They'll never know.' Naruto grinned happily, never had he thought that doing something so… So cowardly and stupid would make him feel so much better. It was like with each drop if blood he shed, the anger and pain went away.

He was bleeding out the bad. It was a perfect explanation. And as Naruto walked into his room his eyes locked on the kunai on his bedside table again.

_Bleed out the poison in your veins. _

Every cut was precise. They were deep and narrow, spilling blood all over his hands and arm. Every cut healed, only to be opened again and again by the sharp edge of his kunai.

_Bleed out the hate the runs through your body._

When he was finally finished Naruto laid down on the floor, breathing heavily. 'I should clean up all of this blood, I can't have anyone see it.' And so, weak from his blood loss, Naruto slowly rose from the floor and making his way to a small storage closet that held his cleaning supplies.

_Bleed it all out… _

The next day they had one lousy mission, a D-Rank one at that. But for once Naruto couldn't seem to loudly protest, it would take far too much energy.

Kyuubi's chakra may be able to heal him quickly, but producing more blood cells was a different story. He didn't notice the worried looks shot at him by Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura, he went on with the day, sure that no one would figure out his little secret.

What he didn't know was that Sabaku no Gaara was on his way to the leaf village right now, and mere minutes away from entering the main gateway.

He got home and made his way to his room, he actually felt a lot better, other than feeling fairly weak. It was working, he could hardly believe it, but it was working.

Naruto sat on his recently washed bed, leaning back on his pillows and studying the ceiling, the fingers itching to grasp the kunai in its regular spot beside him.

'But I feel fine, and I should probably rest a bit.' _You aren't fine, you're never fine. Bleed it out, bleed it out... _'No, I should quit while I'm ahead. I don't need to bleed anymore.'

But still, his hand, seemingly of it own violation, or maybe of habit, reached out and gripped the kunai, he ran the edge lightly over his fingertips, the sting of his flesh breaking apart not bothering him as he watched the beads of blood run down his fingertips.

'Maybe just once, and I'll try not to stain anything, I don't want to do anymore laundry.' A shadow of a smile crossed over his lips as he pulled up his sleeve, carefully leaning on the edge of the bed.

He pressed the sharp, glinting metal against his soft tanned flesh and slowly began dragging the kunai across his wrist. 'Bleed it all out.'

"What are you doing?" Naruto's head snapped up, bright blue clashing with pale green. He felt frozen, pinned under that dark gaze, he couldn't even remove the kunai from his flesh.

"I asked you a question." Gaara moved forward, frowning angrily as he took hold of Naruto bleeding arm, kneeling down to inspect the wound. Naruto just stared before going limp, the kunai dropping on the floor, the hand that was holding it falling to his side.

"Naruto." Gaara practically growled his name out and Naruto gulped before whispering out his answer. "I was bleeding it out."

Gaara glared up at him before looking at the bloody appendage before him, the wound was almost completely healed. 'You idiot, what do you think you're doing.' Gaara leaned forward and began lapping up the blood, ignoring how Naruto tensed up in shock as the metallic liquid coated his tongue.

Once all of the crimson liquid was gone Gaara allowed himself to look up into Naruto wide eyes and a grim frown tugged at his lips.

"What kind of idiot are you?" That seemed to snap Naruto out of his shock and the blonde quickly tore his arm out of Gaara's grip and retorted. "I'm not an idiot!"

Gaara rose from the ground, towering over Naruto with his arms crossed.

"If you are not an idiot, why were you hurting yourself?" "I… I just want to… I just…" Tears began pooling in Naruto's eyes and Gaara felt a stab of guilt in his chest.

"It's going to be okay Naruto." He said while he awkwardly leaned down to hug the blonde. Naruto wanted to say something like: How would you know, or, you don't know what I'm going through. But Gaara knew, he had gone through and survived far worse, but Gaara was a lot stronger emotionally than Naruto could ever hope to be.

Naruto leaned into the embrace, wrapping his own arms around Gaara's neck, letting tears run down his face one by one.

They stayed like that for an awkward couple of minutes, neither knowing what to say or do next. It was Gaara he broke the contact, opting to sit beside Naruto on the bed and ask.

"How long have you been doing this?" "Not long, I just started a few days ago. I just woke up feeling really bad one day, and, well, I just felt like-" "Mutilating yourself." "No! I just wanted to show that my emotional pain is more than anyone can ever realize!"

Naruto huffed and began turning away but Gaara caught and held his face between his hands.

"That doesn't justify what you were doing." "How do you know! You don't know what I go through! People are afraid of you, they probably wouldn't dare say anything mean to your face, I have to go through those harsh words and glares everyday when I'm awake and every night in my dreams. You can't possibly understand!"

Gaara felt a bittersweet smile cross over his face. "I can't understand, can I?" He leaned in close, inches away from Naruto's face. "I am like you Naruto, you know that I can understand." Naruto avoided his gaze. "I guess, but you know that we're treated differently, I just, I always feel so alone."

Naruto looked so downcast that Gaara had to refuse the urge to wrap his arms around the younger boy again, and instead opted to speak up.

"We are the same, we need each other to survive." Naruto looked up at him curiously. "I thought you didn't need anyone." Gaara took a deep breath. "I didn't, until I met you." And he swooped down for a kiss.

Naruto eyes widened in shocked and he opened his mouth to protest, ignorant to the fact that if one opens their mouth when kissing it is so easy for the other person to slide his or her tongue into their mouth to explore.

Which is exactly what Gaara did, allowing Naruto to taste his own blood, a rather disturbing thing for the blonde.

Gaara frowned, Naruto not having been as reactive as he thought he would be, so he pulled away, eyes roaming over Naruto's face, taking in the expression of sheer shock.

"What? Did you really not notice how much I care for you?" He asked dryly and Naruto shook his head, his mouth forming a small 'o'.

"Well, now you know." And he sealed their lips in a kiss once more.

Thoughts were running though Naruto's head, appearing a disappearing in lightening quick flashes, but the same thoughts kept appearing. 'Does he love me?' _Does he?_ 'I care for him, do I love him too?' _Does it matter, if he loves you, he loves you._ 'Someone loves me?' _Someone loves you._

Naruto began kissing back, his arms wrapping tightly around Gaara's form.

'Love me Gaara, kiss away everything but my love. Heal me…' _Save me…_

Gaara held Naruto closer, his eyes closing in bliss.

'We are the same Naruto, if we love each other we will survive.'


	8. KankNaru

Warnings: Non-cannon, take place approximately 3 years after the Chuunin exam. Anyways, I'm pretty sure the quote I'm using in the summery is what they did say to each other, if not, meh.

Pairing: Kank/Naru, background paring of Kiba/Hinata mentioned.

Summery: "You're original, I like you." "You're not original, I don't like you." Maybe Kankuro's words meant more than Naruto thought.

Genre: Romance, Action (Very badly written fight scenes, you'll have to forgive me for that.)

Rating: PG – PG13.

""-speech

''-thoughts

It had been several years, but he could still remember the first time he met Naruto. Some kid ran into him, so he lifted him up by the shirt collar, ready to teach the little gaki a lesson. Naruto tried to intervene, failing horribly of course, and he barely gave the boy another thought. That is, until the final minutes of the Chuunin exam, when the blonde loudly and confidently proclaimed that he wouldn't give up

He was a confusing, annoying little brat, but his willpower was something Kankuro couldn't ignore. And so later on, in the prelims, Kankuro found himself approaching the boy and saying, "You're original, I like you." He wasn't too surprised when the blonde crossed his arms and huffed. "You're not original. I don't like you!"

Many thought of him as weak, especially when comparing him to his blood thirsty younger brother and giant-fan wielding older sister. He was nothing but a puppeteer, hiding in the shadows while his 'dolls' did the work for him. A coward that could be easily beaten so long as his main weapon, Karasu, was destroyed. But for the past three years Kankuro had been training hard, using his puppeteering skills and even trying his hand at more advanced tai-jutsu, gen-jutsu and nin-jutsu.

Three years had passed, he was now seventeen and was proudly going on what he referred to as 'the hunt', since he could find no better name for it. He had become a Chuunin two years ago and was now completely prepared for 'the hunt'. His prey was blonde, with blue eyes, and was loud and would be remarkably easy to find.

'I like unique people Naruto, and you are _very_ unique.'

Meanwhile, hundred of miles away, Naruto shivered. He glanced around curiously, it was a hot, sweltering summer day and even in the shade of the forest it was almost unbearable to train, so why had he shivered?

'I have a bad feeling about something.'

And two days later, the feeling still remained, twisting and turning at his insides until he was sure he- "GAH!"

Naruto, having been lost in thought about his 'feeling' had walked straight into someone, lost his balance and had fallen down to the hard, unforgiving earth beneath him. He heard the person above him let out a chuckle and he looked up, mouth already moving to form a barrage of insults, but instead he stopped and stared.

'There's something familiar about this guy.' The baggy black clothing, the narrow eyes that eerily reminded him of Kiba's, the purple face paint- 'Wait a minute!' He angrily pointed at the man in front of him. "You're Gaara's brother!"

Kankuro grabbed a hold of his outstretched hand, pulling him up off of the ground.

"The name's Kankuro, and it's good to see you too, Naruto." Kankuro smirked lightly, not letting go of Naruto's hand as the other boy angrily glared at him. "What are you doing back in Konoha! And why don't you have your puppet with you! And why aren't you letting go of my hand!" Naruto was practically seething as he yanked his hand out of Kankuro's grip and crossed his arms stubbornly, foot tapping impatiently as he waited for answers.

"Well, I back in Konoha because I have some business to take care of, Karasu isn't here because whtever fights I may get bin while I'm here I can handle without my puppeteering, and I wasn't letting go of your hand because I liked the feeling of your hand in mine." He answered off handedly, turning to leave when Naruto, who had just been nodding along with the answers, finally processed the last one.

"Wait… WHAT?" But Kankuro was already gone. 'Dammit, what the hell was that supposed to mean?' He thought angrily before glancing at his watch. "GAH! I'm late for training with Ero-Sennin!"

It was later that night, exhausted from training, (mostly with himself since there were lots of scantily clad girls trying to cool of in the river for Jiraiya to peep on.) that Naruto began thinking over Kankuro's appearance in the village.

'He got taller, damn him and his growth spurt!' Naruto thought as he stomped to his room, he had only gotten two or three inches taller over the past few years, so Kankuro was at least a head taller than him. 'But he still has that stupid face paint. At least he got rid of that weird hat.' Naruto's grin diminished as he thought over one more change in Kankuro's usual appearance. 'He's a Chuunin now. He can become a Chuunin when I can't? I had enough power and ability to beat Gaara when Kankuro was still freakishly afraid of him! Why does everyone hate me so much!' Naruto flopped onto his bed, frowning as the answer made its way into his mind.

'Oh yeah, 'cause I'm a demon host, right.' He snorted before curling on his side, waiting for sleep to come to him.

Meanwhile, not to far away Kankuro was going through his nightly ritual of carefully removing his Kabuki Paint, then taking his dark brown hair out of his low ponytail and brushing it out. His hair was still a bit too short to get tangles, hardly long enough for him to put it in the ponytail, but he liked keeping it in order.

Many past flings had made fun of his almost feminine nightly habits, and they quickly found themselves kicked out. Kankuro hated being called effeminate.

He looked into the mirror appraisingly, time had certainly blessed his features, or at least that was what he, and everyone who saw behind the Kabuki paint believed.

'Naruto's appearance hasn't changed at all. He's even still wearing a strange orange jumpsuit.' He dryly chuckled to himself before stripping of his clothes. 'This is going to be fun, I don't think his personality has changed much either, if our earlier confrontation is any sign of his… Individuality.'

The next morning he carefully applied his Kabuki paint, tied his hair back and dressed, preparing himself for a lovely day of 'hunting.'

For an incredibly skilled ninja, Naruto was very clueless as to when he was being followed.

Kankuro followed him to the ramen stand, to the bridge, the forest where he was having a D-Rank mission, and then to the river where he watched Naruto train with an older man with long white hair, who seemed to be keeping a close eye on the girls splashing around in the water.

Sure what he was doing could technically be considered stalking, but that was such a harsh word. It was more like research really, kind of, maybe not… Well it wasn't stalking, most assuredly not.

He had stayed in his hiding spot near the river for hours until the old man finally left and Naruto was by himself.

It was time for his grand appearance.

"Hey Naruto, how about a spar?" Naruto's head whipped in his direction, eyes narrowing dangerously, making him look almost feral. "What are you doing here!" He demanded, but Kankuro just stepped forward, calm as ever. "I already told you, I think we should have a spar, you're not going to improve if you only fight against clones of yourself." "We'll see about that, I can kick your ass any day!"

Naruto quickly performed Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and then the seven Narutos ran forward, Kankuro grabbed a hold of his shuriken, throwing them at the clones until only two Narutos were left.

They raced at him angrily, kunai in hand, but Kankuro evaded their attack, for the most part.

One of them lunged at him, kunai slicing his cheek before Kankuro gave him a swift uppercut to the jaw, and the clone disappeared with a small poof of clouds.

Kankuro went into a low fighting stance, grabbing a kunai from the holster on is thigh.

"You haven't kicked my ass yet Naruto, maybe you need to try harder." Naruto growled lowly, his hands forming and unfamiliar set of seals before he shouted out.

"Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu!"

Kankuro heard a loud rumbling and quickly flipped out of the way as a large cyclone of water that was horizontal to the ground passed through the area where he once stood, destroying and un-rooting some of the trees that were once behind him. Even where he was now standing droplets of water smashed into his body, stinging from their contact.

'My my, that's a nifty technique, but the classics are always the best.' He whispered, "Kugutsu no Jutsu." Under his breath and let his chakra run to his fingertips, forming small strings of chakra in Naruto's direction. Naruto didn't notice, still slightly worn from the technique he'd been learning for a week, it took a lot of chakra to control that water.

The expression on his face was priceless when he went to grab a shuriken and he found he couldn't move. He cast an angry glare over at Kankuro. "No fair! You shouldn't use your marionette technique when you don't have you're puppet around."

"In the real world, only the sly survive, you have to be cunning to win battles, raw power doesn't always matter." Kankuro replied as his finger moved with practiced grace, Naruto walking closer as the strings of chakra around his legs pulled him closer.

"Anyways, since I won I think I deserve a prize." "Hey! I never agreed to that!" "True, but it doesn't matter much, I don't want anything big, just a little thing." His fingers slowed to a stop as Naruto stood before him, looking uncomfortable and adorable.

"Well, what is it that you want? I don't want to be here all day!" Naruto's eyes were so expressive and Kankuro could tell the boy was uncomfortable, so other than drawing it out, like he usually did like to do, he made it short, sweet and simple.

He leaned down and gave Naruto a kiss on the lips while detaching his chakra from the boy who was far to shocked to notice. And then, with a triumphant smirk on his face he leapt back into the foliage.

'Well, that wasn't too hard.'

Meanwhile Naruto pressed his fingers to his lips, his eyes wide with shock before narrowing with anger. 'He just stole my second first kiss! The bastard!'

"KANKURO! I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT!"

Kankuro sneezed.

The next day consisted of Kankuro once again following Naruto around unnoticed. The blonde didn't have any missions today, so he just lounged around the river for a good deal of time, staring up at the clouds, splashing around in the water, it was kind of cute to watch, not that Kankuro would admit that.

Besides, who didn't like a dripping wet Naruto, in nothing but his boxers on a nice, sunny day?

Hours later, when the old man first arrived Kankuro snuck closer to hear what they were saying. His movements were swift and silent, undetectable by even the greatest of ninjas. Controlling things silently from the shadows had benefits to one's overall sneaking ability.

"-akufu no Jutsu properly yesterday! I felt really tired after it, but look at all the damage I caused!" "Exactly! Today you're going to have to learn how to narrow your attack down so that you can make a critical hit!" "Ano, what does that mean?" "It means that the way you're currently using it has the cyclone with a diameter that is too wide, you have to make the cyclone smaller in diameter so that when you attack the cyclone will be more concentrated and do more damage."

Kankuro watched carefully as Naruto used the cyclone attack again and again. 'Hmm. Next time we fight it'll have to be away from any water source, I don't want to have to go against that attack again. I barely escaped unharmed from it last time.' Kankuro slipped away unnoticed, plans for his next little spar with Naruto already running though his head.

'Next time is going to be much more fun Naruto, and I hope I get more than just a kiss when I win.'

The next morning Kankuro waited outside of Naruto's doorway, knowing from his recent observations that Naruto would come out a couple minutes after eight.

And sure enough, at 8:07am Naruto's door was flung open and Naruto swiftly and gracefully slammed into Kankuro's chest, falling down to the ground, much like the incident four days ago.

"YOU! WHY ARE YOU HERE?" Naruto angrily (and loudly) demanded, an angry flush rising to his cheeks when Kankuro just grinned down at him.

"I thought you might appreciate a re-match, maybe this time you'll come closer to winning." "Dammit! I could have won the last time, I was just holding back." Naruto picked himself up off the ground, dusting off his clothes.

"Well then, this time don't hold back."

It really wasn't too hard to convince Naruto to have another spar with him, the boy's string were easy to pull, if you'll excuse the bad pun. He was just so easily angered at some things, like when you threatened his 'manly-ness' or easily swayed by promising him as much ramen he wanted if he won.

Kankuro picked his ideal fighting area, the forest. Even without Karasu Kankuro could still fight from the shadows and foliage, and he was also depriving Naruto of the water source he'd need for that new technique of his.

He was so sure he'd win he wondered if he should even bother really trying, after all, all odds seemed to be in his favor.

What he wasn't expecting was Naruto's _other_ new trick.

He could easily deal with Kage Bunshin, and deflect any kunai or shuriken sent his way, and find a counter attack for every physical attack Naruto decided to throw out him.

But as soon as their fight began something seemed off, Naruto was still far to confident and cocky, even though Kankuro knew he'd normally be more serious about a fight to avenge his own defeat.

Oh he dealt with the Kage Bunshin, the weaponry, the U-zu-ma-ki Naruto Rendan, the physical attacks and had even barely jumped out of the way of a couple Rasengans.

It wasn't until he noticed that Naruto was creating a clearing that Kankuro realized than Naruto had actually planned this, the less foliage for Kankuro to hide in, the better for Naruto to find him, the more open space Naruto had, the easier he could see and evade attacks.

That's where Naruto's other new trick came in.

Kankuro himself had been working admirably hard for the past three years so that he could prove his strength, learning the very basics which he had ignored before, and slowly working his way up as his skills in nin, tai and gen-jutsu increased.

Naruto already had the basics, he had great stamina to go through training quickly and he had a sensei that Kankuro could tell was quite powerful, despite him being an old, perverted man.

"Kaze no Yaiba!" A bade of wind appeared in Naruto's hand and the blonde dashed forward, tearing away at the remaining foliage and trees around him.

"Come on out Kankuro! Fight like a man!"

Kankuro heaved a sigh, if the blonde was going to destroy his hiding place he might as well come out and show Naruto that he'd learned a couple of new tricks to.

'I just hope he doesn't use that wind blade on me.'

Naruto growled, his wind blade dissipating in his hand. 'Why the hell hasn't he come out yet?'

"Doton Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!"

Hands from below him grasped at his ankles and Naruto found himself being pulled underground until only his head remained above the soil.

"Well Naruto, it seems like I've won again." Kankuro whispered in his ear, Naruto shuddered at the feeling of the warm breath on his neck.

"Don't underestimate me." Naruto ground out, already struggling to move.

"Don't strain yourself Naruto, this fight is over, just admit it."

'I'm not going to let you win!' Naruto closed his eyes, frown set on his face. He let the world around him fade away and soon he found himself in the strange corridor of his mind, walking down an all too familiar hallway which led him to a giant set of sealed gates.

"I can't believe that you're being beaten so easily." Behind the gates the voice of Kyuubi growled, his blazing eyes and wide grin the only things visible.

"Dammit! I don't have time for this! Lend me your power Kyuubi!" Naruto demanded, foot stomping on the wet floor.

"Oh? Am I some sort of trump card?" But even as the demon spoke a wave of red chakra passed through the gates and engulfed Naruto's form. 'Heh, thank you Kyuubi.'

Naruto's eyes snapped open, a beautiful ruby red and with a loud growl the chakra around him began pushing at his earthly confines. Kankuro took a step back, eyes wide. 'Damn it, that's one powerful chakra, the same one I felt when Naruto fought Gaara. If I'm gonna win, this is going to take some effort.'

Kankuro formed a seal and focused all of his energy on creating an illusion. 'Let's just hope he can't see through my gen-jutsu.'

Naruto scowled as he looked at his surroundings, Kankuro was no where to be seen. 'He must be hiding out in the trees again!'

"Kaze no Yaiba!" The blade of wind once again appeared in his hand and he was already dashing towards the tree line, when from the ground multiple sprouts began growing rapidly, turning into large trees before his very eyes, the branches moving rapidly, trying to hit him.

'What the hell is this technique? Can Kankuro control the trees?' Naruto angrily swiped at the branches, but his blade was doing nothing to harm the trees, the branches remained fully intact.

It only took Naruto a few more swipes of his wind blade to realize that the trees couldn't possibly be real, nothing can block a blade of wind.

'So it must be gen-jutsu!' Naruto leapt away from the trees and formed a hand seal.

"KAI!"

The trees disappeared and Kankuro was once again visible, Naruto dashed forward, his blade stopping centimeters away from Kankuro's throat.

"I have won this time, yield." Kankuro frowned for a moment, but shrugged his shoulders obediently.

"I guess this means I have to take you out for ramen now."

Naruto blinked before a grin spread out on his face, his eyes going blue once again.

"YATTA! RAMEN!"

Kankuro outright stared as Naruto gulped down his eleventh bowl and he vaguely wondered where all of that food went. 'Maybe he has a wormhole in his stomach.'

"You're going to eat away most of may paycheck if you keep going." He muttered dryly.

"It's your own fault, I didn't have any breakfast yet, and it takes a lot of energy for me to fight a worthy opponent." Naruto said through a mouthful of ramen and Kankuro grinned, leaning over and wrapping an arm around Naruto's shoulder.

"A worthy opponent huh? How about future boyfriend?"

Naruto immediately stared choking, coughing and hacking and pounding at his chest until his airways were clear and then he turned to Kankuro with an incredulous look.

"NANI?" "Oh come on, why do you think I came here in the first place?" "You said you had business here!" "Exactly, if I had important business that involved something other than you, why would I be hunting you down to spar?"

Naruto seemed to take the question into consideration for a moment.

"Ano… Because you want to see if can beat me?" "Then why do you think I kissed you?" Kankuro asked, taking a small swig of water. "… Because I am one hot piece of ass?" Water sprayed out of Kankuro's mouth.

"W-what?" "Kiba told me I was a hot piece of ass when we were going out." "Dog boy is gay!" "Bi actually, he split up with me when he found out Hinata had a thing for him, they've been dating ever since."

Kankuro leaned back a bit. 'Well, at least now I know he's into men.' "Doesn't it make you angry that he left you for someone else?" "No, not really, Kiba was my friend first, so when we broke it off we still remained friends. I'm just happy that he's happy." Naruto said with a smile before engulfing the rest of his ramen.

"Well, I've got to go train with Ero-Sennin now, I'll see you later." Naruto turned to leave but was stopped as Kankuro grabbed onto his wrist.

"Naruto, how about we meet up tomorrow?" Naruto blushed a bit and looked down at Kankuro's hand around his wrist.

"You're not going to try and fight me again, are you?" "Nah, this time it'll be more like a date." The blush on Naruto face deepened and he pulled his hand out of Kankuro's grip hastily.

But he gave a small nod before running off.

Kankuro stretched his arms over his head. 'Ah, life is good.' He heard a cough a lazily looked over to the man behind the counter and then his gaze drifted to the many empty ramen bowls stacked beside him. '… Damn…'

Kankuro spent the rest of his day planning what exactly he was going to do with Naruto on their date.

Giving him flowers was far too feminine. Ramen was out of the question. And although Kankuro would love to snog with him in a dark corner, he was pretty sure that Naruto wasn't going to want to get physical to fast.

So that was why the next day all Kankuro really had planned was a nice stroll up to the top of the Hokage monument to go star gazing.

Naruto didn't seem to mind, and the stars in Konoha shone brightly despite the harsh lights of the town below them.

"Kankuro, why do you like me?" Naruto asked softly, his eyes focused on the stars above them.

"I told you before, you're original. I like people who are unique." Kankuro absentmindedly ran a hand through Naruto happy, happy to notice the blonde didn't tense up or act uncomfortable.

"Is there any other reason you like me?"

"Well, let's see. You're a powerful shinobi, you're a nice guy, always willing to defend and forgive people, and although I myself would word it differently, you are a hot piece of ass." Kankuro grinned as Naruto playfully swatted away his hand.

"What? You've got beautiful eyes, sunshine hair, and you're a nice petite size. You were adorable when you were younger, and now you're grown into a beautiful young man."

Naruto blushed and breathily asked, "Do you mean it?" Kankuro loomed closer until his face was inches away from Naruto's own.

"Yes." And they both leaned in for a kiss.


	9. ShinoNaru

Warnings: A couple spoilers, nothing to big, and a bit non-cannon.

Pairing: Shino/Naru

Summery: Naruto never really bothered to get to know Shino, he was just to opposite of him and he was kind of creepy, not that Naruto was afraid of bugs or anything, but when he sees Shino fight, a memory is sparked.

Genre: Romance, Humor

Rating: PG – PG 13, nothing really bad is in this.

""-speech

''-thoughts

Naruto's first childhood memory was really something odd. Not that much about his life normal, but still, he was sure that most kid's first memories were of their parents or siblings.

He was being stalked around by a bug.

He must have been five or six at the time, and being the naive and curious child he used to be he hadn't really noticed, until winter came along and the bug was still following him around, even though by all rights it should have been dead. And then, while walking home one dark, cold winter night, a villager, who had obviously been celebrating the holidays by drinking far too much sake, had 'snuck' up behind him and tried to hit him. Keyword: tried. Before the first could hit a whole bunch of bugs, just like the one that followed Naruto around covered up the drunken man's clenched hand.

Naruto quickly used the distraction to his advantage, running home to his apartment and slamming the door shut behind him.

He didn't see much of the bug or any of its friends for a long while.

Then came the prelims of the Chuunin exam, when he saw Shino fight Zaku. When he saw Shino's bugs. Now, Naruto never really bothered to get to know Shino, the boy was his polar opposite after all, but as soon as he saw those all too familiar bugs he felt a shiver run down his spine.

_Creeepyyyy…_

Then, after Sasuke had run off to Orochimaru he had joined team eight on the mission to find the Bikochu, (sp?) a special bug that would help them find Sasuke so long as the first thing it smelt when it hatched was something with Sasuke's scent on it. Well, the mission had turned out to be a failure, but the whole time Shino had been freakishly obsessive about making sure Naruto knew he was the leader. And sharing that huge tent with them, well, Naruto didn't mind Kiba or Hinata, but Naruto was sure that Shino would watch him from under those dark glasses of his. It made Naruto feel on display, feel subservient, feel… Strange things he didn't want to put a name to.

His three years away training with Ero-Sennin had given him a nice long time to think over many various things: like how the women Jiraiya always followed around didn't seem to interest him, or how he always did a double take when he saw a male with round sunglasses.

He'd made the mistake of asking Jiraiya what it meant if he was always thinking about someone, and how girls seemed dull compared to this 'someone'. Jiraiya simply retorted that he, being a young man of almost fifteen, should find the 'girl' he was thinking of and get laid. Naruto was sure to never bring the subject up again.

Three long years had passed, and absence makes the heart grow fonder, or at least that's what some drunken girl had told him once.

So what does he do as soon as he sees Shino again? Pretend he doesn't know him of course! Of course, he hadn't expected Shino to act so wounded about it. It kind of made him feel bad, but he was Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage and straight as an arrow!

_Yeah right._

'Damn it, Shino's still the same, always so quiet and uncaring. I still can't believe he's upset that I apparently didn't remember him. I would have thought that in three years he would have, I don't know… Gotten over me.' Naruto hefted out a huge sigh as he flopped onto the bed, his mind still racing. 'It's going to be weird, being back here with everyone after three years. Sakura… I bet she's the same too, still temperamental with an awesome power whenever she'd angry.' Naruto chuckled to himself as he gazed out of his window, the stars seeming dull compared to the shine they had in the countryside.

"I'm back home. It's nice to be back." And he fell asleep, dreaming of stars, bugs and sakura petals.

Things really hadn't changed much, he was once again on a team with Sakura, Kakashi was his teacher once again, and this time they had actually passed the bell test, thanks to Naruto's quick thinking of course.

And Naruto could still feel Shino's eyes watching him, and from time to time, he'd see a small bug, following him around inconspicuously.

But other than that, life was pretty normal, well, as normal as his life could possibly get.

And then came the fateful day when Shino approached him and suggest that they 'get to know each other again.' Naruto was about to say no, his imagination running away with him about what Shino could do to him if they were alone, but then he remembered how sad Shino seemed when the first time they'd seen each other after three years Naruto claimed to not know him.

So he'd said yes, he'd love to.

And that is where the trouble truly began…

"Sugoi! Your house is so big! How many of you live here?" Naruto asked excitedly when he first caught sight of the Aburame compound. "Five including me." "What!" "Me, my father, my aunt, my uncle and my youngest cousin."

The place could have probably housed fifteen to twenty people, and Naruto supposed it did at one point of time. That was a kind of creepy thought. All those people filled to the brim with chakra eating bugs, Naruto had to hold back a shiver.

'I wonder if it's uncomfortable to have all those bugs crawling inside of you.' This time Naruto couldn't suppress his shiver and Shino looked over at him, as if to say: are you alright? Naruto smiled and forced the thought out of his head. "Don't worry about me Shino, I just got a chill." And what a chill, Naruto could already tell that this strange bonding time with Shino was going to be disaster, and the feeling was amplified when they opened the door and went inside, it was eerily quiet.

And then Shino, in his way of few words, told Naruto that his aunt, uncle and cousin were going to visit his older cousin who had moved to the Hidden Rain, and that his father was on a mission that would take a couple days.

So Naruto was in Shino's house… Alone… With Shino…

The thought kind of excited him, which was exactly why it was so horrible. The great Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage couldn't be in a relationship with another man! … Unless it was a feminine man, with large sparkly eyes and pretty hair. Shino was more masculine than Naruto, and if Naruto was gay he wanted to be seme dammit!

'Damn… I sure do have really stupid arguments against being gay… But no one has to know that!' Naruto puffed out his chest a little as he climbed the stairs to what he supposed was Shino's room.

It was a fairly large room, but was sparsely furnished and decorated, the walls were a plain white, the bed had green blankets, the bedside table was made of dark wood, as was the floors and a desk and chair in the corner. There was a small closet across from the bed and a window on the wall opposite of the room's door, a green cutain hiding the sunlight from view.

'Well, I suppose I shouldn't have expected rainbow colours and rock posters from him. But the only colours in this room are brown and green. It kind of reminds me of Lee.'

Naruto flopped down on the bed, eyes locked on Shino's form as the other boy grabbed the chair from his desk and dragged it next to the bed, sitting on it stiffly and turning his head away from Naruto's form on his bed.

A heavy silence engulfed them before Naruto nervously spoke up.

"You know, we can't really get to know each other again if we don't talk or anything." Shino slowly turned towards him, sunglasses glinting eerily in the soft light.

"Did you really forget me? Or do you just want to forget me?" The brunette asked lowly and Naruto stiffened uncomfortably. "Well, you see…." Shino moved closer, sitting on the very edge of the chair as he asked another question.

"Why are you so nervous around me, someone who has been looking out for you ever since we were children?" Shino stood up, towering over Naruto's small form.

"You had a bug follow me around!" Naruto retorted in exasperation, rolling his eyes heavenward.

"That bug, along with many others saved you from that drunken bastard!" Shino leaned down, looking Naruto straight in the eye. "And it was me who had them save you."

Naruto shifted nervously, his close proximity with Shino made him feel odd, so he shakily said. "I think you've said more in these past five minutes than you have in a week, maybe even a month." He chuckled nervously and inwardly sighed when Shino moved away from him, sitting back in his chair.

Silence once again ruled supreme in the room and the only reason Naruto was sure Shino hadn't fallen asleep was that the other boy was sitting up straight.

'Damn it! Why does he have to be so quiet all of the time? I hate having to break awkward silences!' "I do appreciate that you were looking out for me, you know that, right?" Shino didn't answer. "It's just… Kind of freaky when a little bug followed you around all the time when you're little, and then years later you find out the bug was stalking you because some guy was keeping tabs on you." Shino still said nothing. "And I'm confused as to why you'd even bother looking out for me, it's not like I'm special or any-" "Yes you are." "Huh?" Shino got up from the chair and sat himself beside Naruto on the bed.

"You are special Naruto. When I was a child I would always hear adults whispering about a demonic child. A boy of evil and darkness. I believed those words for a long time, until I saw you for the first time." He turned towards Naruto, who swore Shino's cheeks were going pink behind his high collar.

"You were playing alone in the park, laughing without a care in the world. There was no way you could be the child the adults always talked about, but I knew from their hateful looks that you were. It was then that I decided you needed protection, my protection, so I had a female bug follow you around all the time, I was never far behind, always ready to help you from the shadows."

Naruto's eyes were wide as saucers and his mouth had dropped open to form a small 'o'. 'I don't get it, so he's been trying to help me for all this time, just because I didn't seem like a demonic child to him?'

"Unfortunately, the drunken man was my second cousin, so in order for it to seem like it was not me who protected you, I did not follow you around as much, and only had my bugs check up on you every once in a while."

"So… Do you still care about me? Is that why you seemed so sad when I told you it was hard to recognize you, since you cover up your face all the time?" Naruto leaned in closer to Shino, his heart racing for reasons he would never say out loud.

"I more than just care for you Naruto." Before Naruto could ask what he meant his lips had been covered with Shino's, effectively silencing him.

'Oh my dear sweet Kami-sama.' Shino's lips were warm and soft, moving slowly over his own in an almost hypnotic motion that made Naruto respond eagerly, closing his eyes and throwing caution to the wind.

'The great Uzumaki Naruto is gay, so what?'

They parted reluctantly just as Naruto caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye, and there, resting on his shoulder was, "Stalker bug!"

Shino let out a low chuckle before leaning in for another kiss, but Naruto stopped him, placing a finger to Shino's lips.

"Before we kiss again, I want to see something." Shino rose his eyebrows up in confusion. "I want to see your face, no high collar, no sunglasses, nothing to hide behind."

Shino seemed reluctant, but took off his high collar coat and slowly removed his sunglasses, his eyes closed behind them.

"Now now Shino, don't hide your eyes from me." Naruto whispered playfully and Shino grimaced, slowly opening up his eyes.

They were forest green on inky black, (ie. Black where the white of the eyes usually are.) eyes that no one could ever possibly forget.

"You have really pretty eyes Shino." Naruto said wistfully as he stared into the depths of Shino's eyes and they grew closer, their lips tenderly caressing each others.

'I could never forget you Shino, whether or not you're hiding your face.'


	10. KakaNaru

Warnings: A couple of spoilers here and there, that's about it.

Pairing: KakaNaru

Summary: Naruto's back from training with Jiraiya, he's no longer a child, and he's still the same person Kakashi has a bit of a crush on.

Genre: Humor, WAFF

Rating: PG

""-speech

''-thoughts

Three years, it had been three long, horribly quiet years since Naruto had gone off to train with Jiraiya.

Over these years Kakashi couldn't help but feel guilt weighing down upon him.

He'd always spent so much time training with Sasuke, hardly even bothering with Naruto. The kid had access to the Kyuubi's chakra, he didn't need anymore help from him.

Sometimes he remembered when Naruto asked to be taught Chidori, right after he had beaten Gaara in the forests surrounding Konoha. Kakashi had more or less waved off his request, Naruto just didn't have the concentration to do it.

He vaguely remembered a flash a pain in those beautiful eyes before confidence overtook them.

One other moment he remembered is when he had given Team seven their forms to enter the Chuunin exam, Naruto had launched himself at him, and wrapped his arms around his neck while loudly claiming that he, Naruto, loved him, Kakashi.

Oh he knew Naruto didn't mean it that way, but sometimes he couldn't help but blush at the memory. It was during these times he was very grateful for his mask., it wouldn't do to have him blushing like a mad man when trying to sneak away from Gai.

It was strange to think over and even stranger to feel, but Kakashi actually missed Naruto even more then Sasuke, hell, a lot more than Sasuke. He even missed him to the point where the blonde would occupy most of his thoughts.

'Kakashi, you're a sick old man.' He'd think to himself every night as he gazed up at the sky from his small bedroom, silently wondering where Naruto was.

The only comfort Kakashi had during three long years, was that Naruto was a child, a wide eyed, innocent child whom he wouldn't dare harm, touch or love.

But it all changed when he came back.

Sure, Naruto was still the same loud mouth ninja who was number one at surprising you. He was no longer a child now, and that surprised Kakashi very much.

Going into that familiar training area, with the jingle of familiar bells guiding him he saw two familiar faces, the same as three years ago, but different.

He still couldn't believe that Naruto had taken the bell by beginning to tell Kakashi the ending of his precious new Icha Icha Paradise book, and Kakashi had closed his eyes so that the Sharingan wouldn't read Naruto's lips. When his eyes opened again, Naruto and Sakura had the bell.

Naruto really had grown up, but at the same time, he was still the same way he'd been as a child, he was still the same unpredictable individual that Kakashi grudgingly admitted to having a crush on.

Missions were similar to the ones that happened all those years ago, easy and low classed enough for Naruto to loudly complain about it, saying how they were much more classified ninjas, they should definitely get some A and B missions.

Kakashi never told him to stop complaining, he kind of liked the sound of Naruto's voice. Too bad Sakura seemed to be noticing something was a bit off, sometimes that girl was far to smart for her own good, and far to confident too. One day after training she'd asked to speak with him alone, and when they were out of Naruto's hearing range she'd simply said. "Good luck, you'll need it if you want Naruto to get it through his thick skull that you like him."

He supposed that was good advice, although a bit obvious, Kakashi had seen how the Hyuuga heiress had been fawning over Naruto for years and the blonde never caught on.

So with Sakura's background support Kakashi slowly and subtly tried to make his romantic attentions known. He'd be correcting Naruto's fighting stance by holding his limbs in the proper place, he'd run his finger's through Naruto's hair after he completed a mission successfully, and he'd often buy the boy ramen after training, somehow getting Naruto to hold his hand the whole way to the ramen stand.

But it seemed that the normal version of subtle was far too delicate for Naruto to catch the meaning of. "Maybe I'm acting more like a father then someone who wants to start a relationship?" 'You're old enough to be his father you sick old man.' But Kakashi remained undeterred and kept on track, getting bolder and bolder everyday until it came to a point where Kakashi was sure he could see Sakura shaking with the urge to scream. DAMN IT NARUTO! YOU BAKA! HE LIKES YOU! KAKASHI-SENSEI LIKE YOU!"

Naruto would catch sight of Sakura's angry expression and his eyes would widen slightly. "Nani?" He'd ask in a cute, almost frightened voice, and then Sakura would go away and destroy many inanimate objects.

'That is one of the scariest girls I know.' Kakashi thought to himself as he watched Sakura stomp away, leaving a trail of destroyed trees and rocks in her wake.

"Well, I don't think Sakura's going to come back, so why don't we call it quits for today?" Kakashi asked as he turned towards Naruto, who had a thoughtful expression on is face.

"Kakashi-sensei?" "Yes?" "Do you like Sakura-chan?"

Kakashi nearly fell over from the shock.

"W-what!" "You do don't you, you always spend time training with me to get her jealous." Naruto looked so proud of himself that Kakashi didn't really have the heart to tell him he was wrong.

"She seemed really mad when she stomped away just now, maybe you should go and tell her your master plan before she thinks you don't like her." Naruto said slyly while elbowing Kakashi in the ribs gently.

"I thought you had a crush on Sakura." Kakashi said dryly as he looked to the newly formed path through the forest made by the pink haired shinobi. 'May the Gods be with the man who ends up with her.'

"Nah! I kind of grew out of that phase when I was training with Ero-sennen, I was surrounded by women all the time and they were all so creepy…" Naruto shuddered a bit before brightening up. "But you should go tell her how you feel Kakashi-sensei, before she decides that Lee is her true soul mate." Kakashi cocked an eyebrow and the grinning blonde before asking.

"Don't you think it's wrong for me to be in love with someone over a decade younger than I am?" Naruto shook his head furiously and Kakashi felt a small shimmer of hope grow within him.

"No, love is love, if you truly love someone nothing matters, not their age, not their gender, not their personalities, you love them for who they are and nothing about them matters except that they are themselves, and you love them." Naruto finished in a whisper, a small blush tinting his cheeks and Kakashi found himself pondering over his statement.

'Not their gender, huh?' He felt the small amount of hope grow within him ten-fold as he decided to go out on a limb.

"Naruto, do you like men?" He didn't answer, but by the blush spreading across his face and at the tips of his ears Kakashi felt it was now or never, if he wanted to know how Naruto felt about him, he'd have to act fast.

"Naruto, what would you say if I told you that I wasn't trying to get close to you to make Sakura jealous?" The boy actually looked shocked, as if the thought had never entered his mind.

"Then why would you try to get close to me Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked with wide eyes full of wonder.

"Because I like _you_." He replied softly and before Naruto could say anything back Kakashi pulled down his mask and pressed their lips together for a short and sweet moment.

He pulled away warily and turned the other way, pulling his mask back up. "I understand if you think I've crossed my boundaries as your teacher but-" He stopped when he felt Naruto's small hand slip into his and give a light squeeze. He looked down to the boy at his side, surprise evident on his face when Naruto grinned back up at him.

"I like you too Kakashi-sensei, I like you a lot." He said with a small blush colouring his cheeks once again and Kakashi couldn't help but smile happily under his mask.

"How about I treat you to some ramen today?" He asked as his feet already began walking down the familiar path, Naruto trotting alongside him.

"I'd like that Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said as he gripped Kakashi's hand firmly, unlike the gentle, wary way he'd held his hand before, it was almost like he was being possessive, like he felt Kakashi would suddenly let go of his hand and forget that Naruto ever existed.

'Don't worry Naruto, I'll never hurt you, never.' Kakashi thought to himself as he ran his other hand through Naruto's hair, something was different about this walk, about Kakashi's chaste touches and whispered compliments.

Naruto finally knew what everything meant, Kakashi loved him, and that was all that mattered.


	11. ItaNaru

Warnings: OOC-ness, Itachi is definitely not like himself, there might be minor spoilers for anyone who doesn't know what the Akatsuki organization is.

Pairing: ItaNaru

Summary: He could feel eyes watching him everywhere he went, if the owner of those eyes didn't show themselves soon, he'd go mad!

Genre: Humor (Despite the kind of dramatic sounding summery this is kind of a crack fic) romance (But more humor than romance)

Rating: PG-13 to be safe.

It all started out so simply, first it was just the vague feeling of being watched, he used use to being stared at because he was the 'demon fox vessel,' it was nothing knew. But when he was completely alone in his room and he still felt like he was being watched, he began to get a bit _jumpy_.

At the smallest sound he'd go into an over dramatic fighting pose that he's ripped off of Rock Lee. He snuck around and was a lot more quiet than usual, not wanting to attract attention. And if someone ever shouted his name, Lee for instants, Naruto would immediately hide behind someone until his mind registered that he _knew_ this person, this person was _safe_.

Hell, he probably hid behind half the people in this town in one week, he never knew he was that popular with people. Although he wished they wouldn't shout his name so loudly, that could give away his position!

He was pretty sure his teammates had notice something by now, since they were his most common hiding places.

Now, Naruto usually would be so overactive to this type of thing, but the nervous feeling in his stomach seemed to grow everyday.

That and he was completely aware that Akatsuki was after him, Ero-Sennin did tell him after all.

So it could be the freaky shark guy, or some person he'd never seen before, or Sasuke's older brother.

Now Naruto wasn't quite certain of this, but he was pretty certain it was the shark guy. He didn't know how they figured out that he was afraid of large fish with sharp teeth, but hey, they were a cult, they knew everything.

But still, if it was the Akatsuki, then wouldn't they have just kidnapped him when he was alone, or while he was sleeping? The answers seemed unreachable and each and everyday he could feel himself getting more and more insecure.

'If I go crazy then will still call me superman! If I'm alive and well will you be there a-holding my hand! …. AH! I'm going insane!'

Then, around three weeks after his first strange feeling of being watched, he began finding letters on his bedside table each morning he woke up.

They were short and strange, hardly making any sense at all, but after each one it was signed in red.

From Your Beloved Paper Fan.

'What the FUCK!'

Days past by, the letters not stopping, the feeling in the pit of his stomach not stopping, the message at the end of each letter not making sense.

It was completely by accident that one day, after a little jump behind Sasuke after Kiba yelled out his name in greeting, that Naruto noticed something strange.

There was a paper fan on Sasuke's shirt.

"AH! SASUKE'S STALKING MEEEEEEEE!" He leapt away from Sasuke and into Sakura's unwilling arms, trembling.

"… What?" 'You can't fool me Sasuke, it all makes sense now!' "You! You have a paper fan on your back!" Naruto yelled, pointing angrily at Sasuke before Sakura let him fall from her arms.

"Naruto you dobe! That's because Uchiha means paper fan! It's his family crest, besides, Sasuke-kun has much better things to do then stalk you around." She cast a dreamy look at Sasuke, who was already walking away.

"Uhh, am I missing something?" Kiba asked dryly, Sakura ignored him and Naruto frowned at him.

"I thought I told you to stop yelling out my name." "Yeah, but I can't help it, it's so fun to watch you run for cover!" "Shut up!"

After going home and twiddling him thumbs for quite a while, for he had nothing else to do you see, it finally hit him like a ton of bricks, knocking him from his rocking chair to the floor!

Actually he just leaned to far back, but that's not important.

What was important was that it finally all made sense.

"Sasuke's dead relatives are stalking me!... No, that doesn't seem right actually, why would they want to follow me around…" Naruto swore he heard a strangled cough behind him, but he ignored it.

"Maybe they just don't like me and want to haunt me for all eternity!" There was that weird sound again. "Ah! They hate my life!"

Then, before you could say 'kunai' two strong hands grasped his shoulders, turned him around and Naruto found himself staring into the deep, beautiful, endless, sexy, dark, brooding, mischievous, daring black eyes of…

"ITACHI!" _Surprise_!

Itachi gave a small cough, frown crossing over his lips.

"I'd rather you not yell my name so loudly, unless of course we are in the middle of a sweet passionate embrace, not a hug, a _sweet_ and _passionate_ embrace."

Naruto took a step back and eyed Itachi critically. "Does that mean you want to molest me?"

Itachi, who had quiet a vivid imagination, promptly fell unconscious from a major nose bleed.

"Ah! Not on my carpet! Do you know how hard it is to get blood stains out!"

And so Naruto found himself nursing Itachi back to health, because damn it! Itachi was going to pay for new carpet! There was blood everywhere!

'GAH! I despise you Itachi! I know you're faking being ill, but I'm not giving in, you will pay for my carpet, as payment for me looking after you, and having to wear the nurse's outfit!'

Indeed, Itachi had made Naruto put on a nurses outfit, it was short and white and soooo… Hospital-ish. And Naruto looked good in it! (Not that he'd let anyone know he thought that.)

And it was during the week that Naruto was taking care of Itachi, (Itachi swore that he was still feeling light-headed from blood-loss.) that Naruto noticed something, he didn't feel like he was being watched when he was outside, only when he was inside of his apartment.

'… Oh God, I should have know from the paper fan thing! I am such a dumbass!' Naruto thought as he marched back to his apartment, completely ignoring Sakura's demands to stay put at the bridge.

Kakashi wasn't going to show up for a couple more hours anyways, so he might as well confront one of the most evil, disturbing, perverted, sexy--- Uhhh, definitely not sexy! Evil! Evil enough to scare that pants off of Orochimaru! And make Orochimaru do his bidding. (Like buy nail polish for him!)

So he stomped to his apartment, stomped inside, stomped to his bedroom and glared at Itachi with all of his might.

Itachi simply asked. "Why aren't you wearing the nurse's outfit?"

Naruto seethed angrily. "STALKER! STALKERSTALKERSTALKERSTALKER!"

Itachi, who by then was beginning to get a headache, quickly appeared in front of Naruto and grasped the boy's shoulders.

"I thought you were still weak from blood loss." "I was, come on, you were in a nurse outfit everyday, I'm not a great enough man to ignore you when you're wearing skin tight leather." "… You were stalking me." "As GatobobSpotty would say: A stalker is just an admirer with more devotion."

Naruto's eyes widened and got all shiney. "You admire me?" He asked in a squealing voice and Itachi sweatdropped. "…Yes…" Naruto glomped onto him, loudly proclaiming. "Kiss me you fool!" And it took Itachi all of 0.152 seconds to reply to that request.

_Inner Itachi: ALL RIGHT! SCORE!_


	12. KabuNaru

Warnings: Shotacon, Kabuto is 20 and Naruto is 14, there might be some spoilers.

Pairing: Kabu/Naru

Summary: He may be evil, he may be manipulative, he may be Orochimaru's lap dog, but he knows beauty when he sees it. And when he sees something he wants, he gets it, no matter what.

Genre: Romance, drama, some humor way down at the end.

Rating: R

""-speech

''-thoughts

He remembered when he first saw the little genin, the kid definitely wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but he was definitely something you could look at more than once and still be interested.

Bright blue eyes, wild, sunshine blonde hair, a nice light tan, those odd but appropriate whisker scars that made him seem more vulpine than any human should. And coupled up with his short stature and his bright orange jump suit, as horrible as the colour was to look at, it just made the boy seem younger, more innocent, more _delicious_.

It was later on, in their final hours in the Forest of Death that Kabuto came to realize how strong the kid really was. The kid had practically taken down those three rain-nins without any help at all, it was no easy task, but it proved that the kid was skilled, maybe even more than the Uchiha. Beauty and strength in such a small, frail looking package, he was perfect.

Of course all good things had to end, and Naruto regretfully found out about him being Orochimaru's most trusted minion. He had to fight his little blonde fox, had to hurt him and hurt the ones he cared for, but all would be well, he knew that someday the lovely little kitsune would be his and his alone.

Orochimaru had noticed his distraction, the reason Kabuto's work was lagging. So one day the snake man approached his minion, said something along the lines of, "Just bring the kid here so you can look at him all you want."

Of course, Kabuto wanted to do more than just look at him, he wanted to pin Naruto down to a bed, against a wall, _anywhere_ and just ravish the boy senseless.

Kabuto was never one to disappoint Orochimaru-sama, and so that very night he left the Village of the Sound and quickly made his way towards the Village of the Leaf, a trip that ordinarily would take three days, but Kabuto prided himself on being out of the ordinary, and by the setting of the sun on the next day he could already see the gates of Konoha.

It was easy to slip past any sort of defenses the Leaf-nins had put up to stop an unwelcome visitor, all that was left to do was to find his beloved little kitsune, and then he'd be gone, like he was never there at all.

It wasn't long until he had landed atop a roof that had a most pleasant view, right into Naruto's bedroom, but the thought that anyone could come up here and look at his Naruto at anytime caused him to clench his fist, his knuckles turning white. Once he returned to the Sound, he'd keep Naruto out of sight of anyone who might feel attracted to the boy, which was everyone, except himself of course.

Opening Naruto's window had been an easy task, and pulling the boy into his arms was even easier. He stopped for a moment, looking down at the blonde's face, feeling the slight weight of him in his arms, hearing every soft breath that the blonde took. 'This was meant to be.' Kabuto thought to himself before he took off, a blur of colour to people who looked hard enough, and just a stray breeze to people who didn't.

Kabuto had been running all night and it was just before dawn when he decided to rest and let his body recuperate. He laid Naruto down beside him before he shut his eyes and drifted off. Knowing full well that Naruto definitely wasn't the quietest ninja, and that as soon as the boy woke up, in a forest no less, he'd be sure to make enough racket to wake him up.

"**_GAH!_**" Kabuto lazily opened his eyes and smiled lightly at Naruto, who was staring straight at him, apparently during his little nap Kabuto had somehow gotten a hold of the blonde and pulled him closer until their noses were almost touching. Kabuto tightened his grip.

"WHAT'S GOING ON!" Naruto demanded angrily as he struggled to get free Kabuto's grasp, but it was pointless, not that Naruto would let that bring his spirit down.

"What, do you want to fight me again? I'll kick your ass this tiiiIIIIIME!" Naruto flailed his arms around as Kabuto picked him up and began carrying him at slow pace. "PUT ME DOWN KABUTO! PUT. ME. DOWN!" Kabuto sighed and rolled his eyes heavenward before placing Naruto on the ground, the boy turned around and glared up at him, his mouth opening to say some self righteous thing or another, but he stopped short as the side of Kabuto's hand hit somewhere along the base of his neck. His eyes rolled back and he slumped forward, right into Kabuto's waiting arms.

'The next time you wake up, my little Naru-chan, we'll already be in Orochimaru's fortress, and you'll never be able to escape me.'

When Naruto came to the first thing he felt was cold. The cold of the room he was in, the cold of the stone floor under him, and the cold metal that was around both of his wrists. The next thing he noticed was how dark it was, it felt like it took his eyes hours to adjust to the inky blackness that was around him. And finally he realized that he was not simply dreaming, he really had been caught by Kabuto, and now he was going to be held here, maybe killed, maybe tortured to death, maybe becoming one of Orochimaru's experiments. He couldn't help but notice the wet tracks of liquid running down his cheeks and he realized he was crying.

Kabuto had many things to deal with as soon as he arrived in the Sound, he placed Naruto in an unused holding cell near his room, making sure to bind him with special chakra depleting shackles, they absorbed over half the chakra of anyone bound in them, which be very useful considering Naruto seemed to have endless amounts of energy springing fourth due to the beast trapped within him. After he made sure Naruto was taken care of, he had quickly informed Orochimaru of his return, looked over Kimimaro's condition, glanced over a small training session of the Sound Four, and then he was on his way back to Naruto, dangerous looking smile on his face.

He stopped short when he reached the door that would lead him to Naruto, he could hear a soft sobbing coming from inside and he felt his heart twinge. He opened the door of the cell, eyes raking over the small, fragile form of his little fox. "Naruto?"

Naruto stopped his pathetic weeping as soon as he heard the door begin to open, now was not the time to cry, he squinted at the figure surrounded by light, his eyes widening slightly when he heard whoever it was say his name questioningly.

"_You._" Naruto growled out, jumping up and getting as close to the door as he could, but the chains attaching him to the wall did not let him wander far, he tugged at them with all of his might, putting all of his weight and energy into it, but the chains would not break.

Kabuto chuckled softly. "Ah, you won't be able to escape Naruto-kun, the more energy you put into escaping, the more those shackles will absorb." He stepped forwards, into the darkness of the cell, noticing with satisfaction that Naruto had stopped trying to break the chains and now looked like a lost, confused little child. 'So cute.'

"Why did you bring me here Kabuto? Am I going to be in some sort of sick experiment performed by your master? Or are you just going to torture me to death?" Naruto asked dryly, his voice cracking as he felt tears come to his eyes again. 'Damn it I will not cry! Not now!'

Kabuto was in front of him in an instant, pushing him until his back was against the wall, the unyielding stone on one side, and the stone faced Kabuto on the other.

"I would never," Kabuto began, his glasses glinting eerily, "ever let you suffer through being tortured by Orochimaru-sama." He leaned in and whispered softly in the trembling boy's ear. "I always protect what is mine." And with that he brought his lips down to Naruto's and kissed him, hard.

Naruto's eyes widened and he struggled, trying as hard as he could to break free, but Kabuto over powered him, even without those stupid shackles. 'Damn it, I don't understand, what's-' He felt Kabuto's tongue against his lips and he opened his mouth to gasp, yell, scream, _something_, but whatever sounds he made were muffled as Kabuto explored his mouth. Naruto did the only thing he could think of, he bit Kabuto's tongue, not letting up until he could taste Kabuto's blood in his mouth. The bi-speckled ninja backed away, not caring all too much about his newly acquired wound, his regeneration would take care of that, he felt dejected, not only did his little fox not return the kiss, but it seemed the boy loathed him. 'Well, I can change his opinion of me, and I'm sure in no time he'll be returning my kisses.' He grinned inwardly, watching as Naruto tried to spit out his blood. He came forward, ignoring Naruto's flinch as cupped the boy's face between his hands.

"I'll be back in the morning Naruto-_koi_." And with that Kabuto turned and left the cell locking the door behind him.

Naruto stared at the door, the gears in his mind beginning to work.

'_Koi…_' Koi meant lover, didn't it? 'Kabuto called me Naruto-koi.' Why would Kabuto call him his lover? 'Unless… No…' It couldn't possibly be. 'Does Kabuto… Like me in THAT way!' Naruto blushed as he sank to the hard floor, eyes drooping. 'No, he can't possibly like me, it's all just some sick joke.' Naruto fell into a fitful sleep, his own words echoing in his head.

_Sick joke. Sick joke. Sickjokesickjokesickjoke…_

_He was surrounded by people, he couldn't see their faces, but he knew who they were. He could see Sakura-chan's pink hair, Iruka's pony tail, Sasuke's obsidian eyes. He tried to move, but found he couldn't, he looked up. _

_He was on a cross, his arms open wide, holding him up with ropes as his legs were secured to the trunk of the cross with chains. He could hear growling, but didn't know where it was coming from. It took him a moment to realize that it was coming from him. Then he heard voices, at first they were soft, silent whispers, but the noise grew until all who stood before him were yelling, he couldn't make out everything, but what he could hear made him want to cry._

"_MONSTER!" "KILLER!" "BASTARD!" "DEMON!" "SLAYER!" "MURDERER!" _

_Then there was a barrage of kunai launched at him, piecing his flesh, pinning him against the cross, covering the cross with his blood. He tried to cry for help, to tell them to stop, but the words wouldn't come out, the only sound he made was the constant growling of the words. "Shut up. Shut up. Shutupshutpshutup SHUT UP!" _

_The whispers died away, and everyone around him turning into meaningless shadows, he was alone, surrounded in a sea of inky blackness, slowly bleeding to death on a rickety old cross._

"_Monster..." _

Naruto awoke with a start, tears tracking down his face, shivering in the memory of his nightmare, his deepest, darkest fear. He wished he had a blanket, not for warmth, but to hide under, he wanted to hide from the world and never be found, because then he'd never be betrayed. 'Well, I suppose I'll never be found here, hell, once word gets out that I'm gone, people will probably start celebrating.' He tried to force out a laugh, but it was hollow and raspy. 'At least here, people can't call me a monster, because they're more monstrous that I'll ever be.' With this thought in mind he allowed himself to drift into a dreamless sleep.

He was rudely awakened by hands gripping his shoulders and shaking him hastily. "Unnnn." Once he managed to pry apart his eyelids he was staring straight at Kabuto's glinting glasses. Naruto blinked weakly, noticing that it was a bit brighter than before, and also noting that Kabuto's face seemed to be getting closer and _closer and closer._ 'Hey, waitaminute!'

"Good afternoon Naruto-koi." Naruto could feel Kabuto's breath against his neck and he tensed up, mind screaming at his body to _move now_, but he was paralyzed. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words couldn't come out.

"I thought about you all last night." Naruto's eyebrow twitched a little at that. "I even dreamt about you." His hands clenched into fists as Kabuto nuzzled his neck, that was it! He pushed Kabuto, leapt up and made a hand seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Nothing happened. Kabuto chuckled lightly as he picked himself up off the ground. Naruto tried again. "KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" Zero, zip, nadda, nothing, nil zilch. 'What? I thought that these only absorbed some of my chakra!'

Kabuto loved the clueless expression on the blonde's face, he was just so adorable. 'But he was even more adorable in my dream, when he was writhing and moaning under me.' He took a step forward, then another, and then he grabbed the baffled blonde's wrists and held them above his head, pinning Naruto against the wall.

'Oh damn.' Naruto bit his lip and looked up at Kabuto, eyes already beginning to fill with tears he vowed he wouldn't let fall. 'Why the hell do I have to go through this, what did I ever do?'

The silver haired man gazed down at his little kitsune, the boy was gorgeous, stunning, dazzling. He leaned down and captured the boy's lips with his own.

At first Naruto's eyes widened, but he soon relaxed, he couldn't break free and fighting would just make it worse, so he stood there, not responding to Kabuto's kiss at all.

He felt numb.

Kabuto was slightly disappointed that Naruto didn't respond to the kiss, and even more when he realized that he was cutting a bit too close to being late.

Minions like him were always to be on time.

"I'll be back in several hours Naruto." He ruffled the blonde's hair fondly before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Naruto alone once more.

'At least there are some candles now, I can see a bit better.' Naruto sighed. 'But what's the ability to see worth when there's nothing to look at?'

It seemed the only thing Naruto could do was either sleep or try and figure out what the fuck Kabuto was doing.

Kabuto was a pretty screwed up guy, Naruto wasn't sure he'd be able to figure out what was going on in his mind.

But sleep usually meant dreams, and dreams usually meant nightmares, so with an impassionate air about him Naruto tried to figure Kabuto out.

'Well, he likes me in that way, and he's kissed me, kidnapped me, chained me up…' Naruto pulled at his shackles uncomfortably. 'Maybe if I promise not to run away he'll at least take these off, I need to move around.' Naruto pouted. 'But why does he like me? We hardly spent any time together at all, you can't like someone you don't know, can you?'

Kabuto's day had been horribly long, or at least it seemed that way to him, but he was pleased to discover that his focus did not drift away from his tasks and onto a certain blonde, most of the time anyways. And it seemed Orochimaru realized it as well, if the man's smirking and rolling of the eyes was any indication. Kabuto had still had two more hours of tests to overlook when Orochimaru dismissed him and responded to Kabuto's questioning gaze with, "You're actually paying attention for now, but I fear if you're kept away much longer you mind will begin to slip off topic."

For the six hours he had been by himself Naruto had begun scheming, and it was a brilliant plot if he did say so himself. So what if by going along with his plan he was going to become a manipulative bastard and might dig himself even deeper into trouble, if that meant he was able to get out of this dark, cold cell, then so be it.

He had put the final touches on his plan and waited for what seemed like an eternity, he actually could feel excitement building up as the door to his prison was slowly opened and Kabuto walked in.

Now was the time for action!

"Hey Kabuuuutoooo." Naruto fluttered his eyelashes at the older man, something he saw Ino and Sakura do many times when they were trying to charm Sasuke. It never worked of course, but Sasuke was a chunk of human shaped ice after all. Kabuto gave him an odd look, but was silent. "I was just thinking, can anyone get into this room, not just you?" It was a completely logical question, Naruto was proud to have thought of it, even now he could see that Kabuto was thinking it over, a small frown gracing his lips, Naruto proceeded onward. "Because even if only you have a key to this room, there are other skilled ninjas here who could easily break down the door and get to me."

"Only Orochimaru and myself know that you're here." Ohhh, Naruto hadn't thought about that possibility, but still, he had to make excuses!

"But what if they need this room for… Uh, storing things?" Kabuto crouched down to Naruto's level, his glasses glinting in the dying candle light. "There are many other rooms for storage, and none of them are located in this part of the base."

Dammit! Naruto had to go in for the kill right now!

"But what if a couple barges in here one night, looking for a secluded place to have sex, and then they spot me and decide that they want to have some fun with me! I can't attack them properly because of these chains and they'd easily overpower me." Naruto forced his eyes to widen and made his lower lips tremble and in his most pathetic, feminine whine he could muster he pleaded. "Won't you _please_ take off these shackles _Kabuto-san_?"

It had worked, but not exactly in the way Naruto wanted. He wanted the chains off so that he could at least get up and stretch every once in a while, what he got was a one way ticket to being locked up in a bedroom, Kabuto's bedroom.

Oh course the thought going through his mind when he realized this was.

'_Ohhhhh fuck_.'

Kabuto was strong, and even without those shackles Naruto knew that he wasn't going to be able to fight Kabuto and win unless Kyuubi got involved, but usually the fox would only give him chakra in life or death situations, and Naruto, although freaked out by it, knew this wasn't a life or death situation. Not that it made being stuck in Kabuto's room any better, he'd already tried picking the lock and breaking the door down. Neither had worked. And he kind of whished he was back in the inky darkness of the other room, chained to the wall.

Sure he could pace around and even have a nap on a bed instead of the floor, but the whole place just reminded him of his captor. Nothing was out of place, everything in the room had a use, and Naruto was sure that whenever he inhaled deeply enough he could smell Kabuto, a light scent like an attic filled with old books mixed with a field of flowers after a rainstorm. Musty, but sweet and fresh.

Or at least Naruto thought Kabuto smelt like that, he's never really been in an attic or a field of flowers after it rained, but those were the only things he could seem to describe the scent as.

But as he slowly tore himself away from the topic of Kabuto's scent, he once again found himself wondering why Kabuto was claiming to like him, it didn't make any sense at all! And since Naruto knew that he'd never be able to figure Kabuto out, he decided to out-right ask him.

Imagine Kabuto's surprise when he re-entered the room, Naruto immediately jumping off the bed and standing on the very tips of his toes to try and look him in the eyes while asking. "Kabuuutooooo, why do you like me?"

Kabuto lifted one eyebrow at the question, but since Naruto had to keep himself steady by gripping his shoulders and since the boy was just so willingly close, he didn't really mind.

"For one thing you're very cute." He smiled lightly when a blush settled on Naruto's cheeks. "You're powerful and don't need constant protection, not to mention that you have _great stamina_ that could come in handy in many different situations." Naruto blushed even more, his grip on Kabuto's shoulders loosening. "And finally your personality, childlike and innocent, but strong and not easily broken. I believe that covers it." Naruto had let go of him completely and had shrunken down to him normal height. He just looked so shocked and cute that Kabuto couldn't help himself, he leaned down and gave Naruto a swift kiss before leaving the room and locking the door behind him.

The thought of Naruto sleeping in his bed was exciting enough, but if he lingered in that room much longer he'd be thinking of the many other things they could do, besides sleep, in that bed and he might just lose his self control.

He needed Naruto to trust him before he did anything to drastic. He wouldn't go that fast with his blonde.

Yet…

But oh how he wanted to pin the blonde to his bed and ravish him until the boy was screaming and begging for more, but that would come soon enough, for now he had to satisfy himself with mere kisses and thoughts of the exhilarating pleasures the would both share.

Naruto, sweet little Naruto who had never been a relationship before, oh how Kabuto longed to teach him all about the sinful pleasures of the world. Kabuto shivered in sheer, utter delight at the thought.

As soon as Naruto was comfortable with him, which shouldn't take too long, considering how many second chances the boy gave out to everyone who ever hurt someone or someone he cared for. He should be forgiven in at least a week!

A week had passed, and although Naruto seemed to be going along with the whole _I kidnapped you and want to make you my slave of love for all eternity_ thing really well, even though he still had yet to respond to any of Kabuto's kisses, which was really a downer, Kabuto knew he was a great kisser, hell, at the tender age of fifteen he'd all but made a girl orgasm, just by giving her one of his more passionate kisses. Okay, so maybe that was a little far from the truth. But he was a great kisser, and that girl really was making a lot of noises, kind of annoying noises, sounds that, apparently, the 'fairer' sex thought turned men on, one of the many reasons he decided that guy were a lot better, they made noise, but their breathy little whimpers and silent screams and purrs of ecstasy were a lot sexier.

Kabuto couldn't wait to find out what kind of noises Naruto made in bed. Kabuto saw him as a purring, whimpering and begging sort. 'I'll find out soon enough.'

Meanwhile Naruto was currently having a bit of inner conflict, yesterday, when Kabuto kissed him, Naruto found himself almost wanting to kiss back, good thing Kabuto was such a bastard, kidnapping him and all, so Naruto just refused all instinct and kept still as his mouth was pried open and ravaged by Kabuto's tongue.

But Naruto was sure that if Kabuto kissed him a couple more times like that, he might just find himself kissing the older man back. The problem with this was that Kabuto kissed him like that maybe eight or nine times a day, occasionally stopping one to whisper sweet nothings into Naruto's ear, before going back to pillaging the blonde's mouth.

Naruto did everything to resist the growing attraction he had for Kabuto, thinking about how he had helped with the attack on Konoha, how he had deceived him, how he was Orochimaru's right hand man. But since he was often left alone and had nothing to do but mull things over, he found himself finding some positive things about the aforementioned man.

Kabuto hadn't tortured him yet, hadn't handed him over for Orochimaru to torture, had vowed to never allow Naruto to be hurt, had told Naruto that he loved him, and, although Naruto hated to admit it to himself, Kabuto was kind of like the 'knight in shining armor', taking Naruto away from a place where many hated him, (Although a fairly good number was fond of him) had taken him to his palace, (Which was really an underground lair that was ruled over by a crazy, snake loving psychopath) and vowed to love him forever.

Naruto didn't know if he'd get a happily ever after out of this or not, but if he did he was going to forcibly compel Kabuto to allow him to go back to Konoha for a visit, by means of his secret weapon, Kabuto's one true weakness. Wide, puppy dog eyes, quivering lips and a voice that he normally reserved for his Orioke no Jutsu. It was almost laughable how Kabuto's eyes would glaze over when ever Naruto would asked for something in his unnaturally high pitched voice, always ending it with a drawn out, 'Kabuto-saammaaaa.' Naruto had learned that while 'Kabuto-san' was pleasing to hear, 'Kabuto-sama' got the job done.

Naruto thought it was kind of pathetic how he was figuring out Kabuto's weak spots so that he could beg for stuff, but really, what else was there to do in an _underground lair_!

Apparently a lot, Kabuto had been gone for _hours_ and Naruto was _starving_! Usually if Kabuto know he'd be gone for a long time he'd leave him a snack of some sort, but _nooooo_, today he had to be a complete total bas-

"Sorry I'm late, but I brought you something." Kabuto said as he slowly slid the doorway open just a bit so that Naruto couldn't see what he was holding.

Naruto was about to angrily whine that whatever he had brought, it had better be food, when he smelt something familiar. No, not the musty/sweet/fresh scent of Kabuto, it was the smell of joy, happiness and the sating of his hunger.

"RAMEN!" Naruto jumped forward and flung open the door open, there, balanced upon Kabuto's left hand were two trays, one stacked on top of the other, and each held three large bowls of streaming hot ramen.

"I didn't know what flavor you liked best, so I made a bowl of miso, pork, shrimp-" "Okay okay I get it! Now give me ramen!" Kabuto held the bowls out of Naruto's reach, grinning down at the pouting boy. "What do we say?" "Pleeaasseeee."

Kabuto had never seen anybody wolf down ramen so quickly in his life, The boy was finishing each bowl off in thirty seconds flat, he was on the last bowl and Kabuto was getting a bit anxious, until Naruto stopped and snipped lightly at the broth.

"Hey Kabuto, is this a new flavor or something?" Kabuto nodded and Naruto broke out onto a grin. "Itadikimasu!" And down the hatch it went.

Kabuto smirked to himself, it was a new flavor alright, he liked to call it, sake ramen. It was a lot like miso ramen, except the 'broth' was just heated up sake.

Kabuto couldn't wait to see how Naruto held his liquor.

Naruto finished of the bowl, slowly swishing the last mouthful of broth in his mouth. It didn't taste like anything he'd had before, it was kind of sweet, but at the same time it had a bitterness that immediately took over his taste buds once he swallowed it. 'Uggg, I have to make sure I never eat that funny smelling ramen again, it's making me feel funny.' Naruto, although he wasn't aware of it, had a buzz.

His eyes drooped a little and a light flush came to his cheeks. 'Uhh, why do I feel so weak?' He allowed himself to drop on the bed. 'Damn… Kabuto must have done something to that ramen, maybe that's why it smelt funny.'

Kabuto was gathering the bowls, stacking them atop the two trays he'd brought and he left with a whispered. "I'll be back in a second."

Naruto flip himself onto his stomach, snuggling into the pillows and deeply in haling their scent, Kabuto's scent, it seemed to calm his stomach, which was twirling savagely in protest of that last bowl of ramen. He drifted into a deep sleep, clutching the pillow close to him.

Kabuto quietly entered his room, smiling a bit when he saw Naruto snuggling with the pillows. Kabuto took off his glasses, quickly stripped down to nothing and put on his pajamas, a pair of faded grey training pants, and got into bed. He tuned on his side and ran a hand along Naruto's face, over his scars, his thumb trailing lightly over his lips. "Goodnight Naruto." He began to turn over, but stopped as small hands gripped his arm. His eyes widened in surprise as he glanced at Naruto, who was still asleep and snuggling closer to Kabuto, resting his head in the crook of Kabuto's neck, breathing deeply. Kabuto smiled and held the boy closer, knowing full well that you should never look a gift horse in the mouth.

Naruto awoke to the calming scent of Kabuto and he snuggled closer to the pillows, except these pillows weren't as soft, or even shaped like pillows, and they seemed to be moving when Naruto heard laughter close to his ear. Blue eyes snapped open and widened when he saw that he was not snuggling into an expanse of Kabuto scented pillows, but Kabuto himself. And then the man had the audacity to laugh at him for it!

Naruto growled low in his throat, which only made Kabuto laugh more. He began turning away, but Kabuto's arms were like steel bands around him, keeping his close and brining him closer.

"Now now, that's not how you say good morning to someone you've been cuddling all night." Kabuto said with a wide grin as Naruto just stared at him.

"You're not wearing your glasses." "What, did you think I wore them to bed?" Naruto looked down with a flush, his fingers grazing over Kabuto's chest. "You're not wearing a shirt either." One of Kabuto's larger hands laid itself on top of Naruto's, stopping the movement of his fingertips. Naruto reluctantly looked up into Kabuto's black eyes. Thinking over things that he'd never admit he knew, mostly because they connected with girly fairy tales he didn't want anyone to know that he knew.

In the original Beauty and the Beast, the girl asked if she could go visit her family as long as she promised to come back.

Naruto took a deep breath and with wide eyes, trembling lips and his higher than normal voice began his plea.

"Kabuto-saaamaaaaa." Kabuto perked up, he knew that whenever Naruto wanted something enough to beg for it, he would call him by that.

"Kabuto-sama, I miss my friends, can I please go back for a visit? Only for a few days? Pleaasseee Kabuto-samaaa?" Kabuto looked into the wide blue eyes in front of him. What could it hurt? He could always just take the blonde back forcibly, besides, the boy needed to get out into the light, as of late his golden tan had been fading away, even his hair seemed to be going dull, and his eyes didn't seem to shine as much.

"Alright I'll give you one week to visit. But before you go, I want to give you something to remember me by." Kabuto swooped down and captured Naruto lips with his, and the blonde, so lost in his own happiness, began kissing back.

It was a shame Kabuto had to knock him unconscious, he couldn't allow the boy to know the exact location of the Sound after all.

When Naruto awoke he was in a white room that smelt strongly of sterilizer and other things that were not nearly as pleasant as Kabuto's scent.

'I'm home…' "NARUTO!" Naruto's head snapped up as he was engulfed in a pair of familiar, strong arms. "Hi Iruka-sensei, what's been going on?" "Naruto, where on Earth did you go! No one could find you and I was getting so worried and, oh God I'm so glad you're back." The arms tightened around him until Naruto had to gasp out. "Nee... Iruk-aaa-sensei…. Can't…… Breath."

It felt good to be back in the sunlight, constantly pestering the villagers, the strange thing though, was that whenever someone asked where he was, and he told them, they never believed him! But Naruto supposed it was for the best that they all thought he was lying, what he was doing was probably considered fraternizing with the enemy.

Another strange thing was that Naruto always felt so cold at night, like he was used to Kabuto's warmth beside him, and it was hard for him to sleep, he'd tried nestling his head into his pillows, but it just wasn't the same, Kabuto's scent was much more soothing. He also found himself thinking before saying things, something that he was pleased to see shock many people, who only knew him as the loudmouth host for the Kyuubi.

He also often found himself missing Kabuto's passionate kisses. Sure Iruka hugged him and Kakashi ruffled his hair, but Kabuto's kisses were the most loving physical contact he'd ever come across. They were demanding and violent but at the same time needy and passionate enough that in his dreams Naruto would be kissed by him. And in his dreams he'd always kiss back.

On his final day Naruto made sure to spend extra time around everyone, especially Iruka, seeing as the man hardly let him out of sight anymore, and as the day slowly turning into night Naruto was compelled to at least write a note explaining his absence.

_Dear anyone who cares,_

_Despite what you think, which is apparently that I trained alone for two weeks where no one could find me, I WAS kidnapped by Kabuto, he's not that bad of a guy, just so long as he doesn't try to sexually harass me in my sleep… Anyways, he's coming back for me tonight, but don't worry, I can probably force him to let me visit again, I know alllllll of his weak spots. - But don't expect me to be back to soon, I mean, he does have a week of kissing to catch up on. U _

_Sincerely, Kabuto's Love Slave AKA Uzumaki Naruto_

Naruto snickered as he signed it, Iruka was going to have a fit when he saw that. Then he packed up a few of his belongings, like some extra clothes, his other outfit had been horrible dirty after two weeks of wearing nothing but it.

And so Naruto went to sleep, knowing that once he woke up, he'd be in Kabuto's clutches once again.

Fun.

He was having another one of those dreams, the ones where Kabuto kissed him again and again and again until responding to his kisses became like breathing, like they shared air through the kiss so that they'd never have to break apart. Naruto could feel himself waking up but the dream remained with him, seemingly becoming more and more real with each second that passed by.

It wasn't until Naruto was fully awake did he realize that if it was a dream, he wouldn't still be kissing a pair of lips that he immediately knew were Kabuto's. He could smell the calming scent of his kidnapper and he slowly opened his eyes, not really wanting to break away from the kiss.

He looked into Kabuto's eyes and smiled, muttering a shy, "I missed you." Before he leaned in for another kiss.

He slowly became aware of his surroundings, he was in Kabuto's room again, so he'd probably been out for two or three days, but he didn't really worry about that as Kabuto was the one to break away from the kiss.

"Hmm. I never thought that when I woke up my little sleeping beauty that he'd have quite that reaction." Naruto blushed a bit, breathing heavily, he needed something, God did he need it, he wasn't sure what it was that he wanted, but he could see a glint in Kabuto's eyes, Kabuto knew what he needed.

"You missed me, you say. How much did you miss me, _Naruto-koi_?" Kabuto placed kisses all over Naruto's face and Naruto could feel the man beginning to undo the buttons on his nightshirt. Naruto succumbed to the sensation of Kabuto's hands against his bare chest, arching into the touch as Kabuto tweaked at his hardening nipples.

"I asked you how much you missed me Naruto, if you answer my question." Kabuto brushed a hand lightly over Naruto's groin. "I'll make it worth your while."

It was wrong for him to be doing this, so very wrong, but Naruto needed something and Kabuto was willing to give it to him. "I missed you so much, that I feel almost intoxicated being near you again." Kabuto seemed satisfied with this answer as he quickly pulled down Naruto's pajama pants, smiling at the length of hardened flesh before him.

"I missed you too, when you were gone I thought about you day and night, I dreamt about you." Kabuto smashed their lips together as he removed his own shirt, smirking as he heard the purrs and whimpers coming out of the blonde's mouth.

They devoured each other's lips, tongues battling heatedly in the moist caverns of their mouths, Kabuto slowly stripping himself completely naked

If one were to listen closely, their ear right next to Kabuto's wooden door, they would have heard a lot of interesting noises.

Kabuto was very happy to learn what kind of sounds Naruto made during sex.

As for Orochimaru, well, he decided to stop trying to overcome Konoha, why, you may ask.

He did not want to deal with a bitchy, sex deprived Kabuto, since Naruto would obviously stop doing whatever the hell they did when they were alone if he knew Konoha was being mercilessly attacked by his lover. Nor did he want to deal with a bitchy, sex deprived blonde haired demon child. God only knew how much havoc the kid would wreak, running around everywhere, screaming at the top of his lungs, creating multiple shadow clones to set traps and pranks in every single corner, hallway and room of his underground base.

He had enough to worry about without wondering if his hair was going to be shaved off when he woke up the next morning.

Orochimaru liked his hair far too much…

OH! And Iruka took the note very badly, (as expected) and fainted immediately upon reading it.

Right into the arms of Kakashi.


	13. ChouNaru

Warnings: A small bit of spoilerage, shouldn't be too bad for anyone who's not watching the English version.

Pairing: Chouji/Naru

Summary: They were the only other people they new who could eat ramen at dawn, on odd meeting, and an even odder departure.

Genre: WAFF

Rating: G

""-speech

''-thoughts

Naruto wasn't usually one to be very surprised, in his own opinion anyways, but he couldn't seem to keep his eyes fixed upon the glorious sight that was ramen which was placed in front of him, and instead found his eyes drifting to the boy beside him.

'I can't believe it! Chouji could definitely have any girl in the village now! Wh-what if he tried to get Sakura-chan?' Naruto cast a suspicious glace at the boy who was busily slurping down ramen next to him and sweatdropped. 'Or maybe he just wants to eat… Well that's enough thinking for this morning!' Naruto quickly shook away his thoughts and began quickly eating his ramen.

It was a cold morning, the sun hadn't had enough time to warm up the ground below, and hardly any sane person could be seen walking about the streets at this time of day. So why where Naruto and Chouji already outside, eating ramen? Well, Naruto had to train to beat some sense into Sasuke and bring him back, and all of his instant ramen was gone. Chouji was hungry, and didn't really feel like making anything for himself, he'd just gotten out of the hospital! He shouldn't have to make his own meals yet!

Empty ramen bowls were quickly piling high as both boys scarfed down their fill until they leaned back, their hunger sated.

Naruto lazily opened one eye to lance at the boy beside him. "You know Chouji, if you keep eating like that you're going to get back to normal." Chouji turned towards Naruto, seemingly just noticing the blonde. "Huh? What's wrong with what I was like before!" He asked with a dangerous edge to his voice and Naruto sweatdropped nervously. "N-nothing! Really! I just thought you'd want to stay like that and get a girlfriend! Maybe get with Ino!"

Chouji proceeded to choke on the air before dissolving into a fit of laughter.

Naruto squinted his eyes and frowned and he watched Chouji practically die of laughter. "Uhh… Are you mocking me?" "N-no, its just that… Just that, me and INO?" Chouji's laughter began dieing down and he was now breathing heavily.

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and stared at Chouji suspiciously. "Are you sure you're not mocking me?" Chouji smiled and shook his head. "No, I just don't see how you could picture me with Ino of all people." Chouji shuddered. "She's not my type, and she's way too scary." "That's true, she's like what nightmares are made of."

"Can you imagine being in a relationship with her, she'd have you do all the work, she'd manipulate you, she'd use her body to get what she wants!" Naruto blushed a bit and mumbled. "That part might not be too bad." Chouji huffed. "Only if you find her attractive in some way, but I'd rather be with someone who wasn't so… Shallow."

They sat in silence for a while before Naruto couldn't help having a question slip out of his mouth. "What is your type, Chouji?" The other boy closed his eyes in concentration.

"Well, they can't be an ego-maniac, but self confidence would be good, they'd have to be supportive and loyal, I'd rather if they weren't really anti-social… Hmmmm…" Chouji rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "And I'd prefer if they weren't disturbed by my eating habits, and maybe they could have a good, healthy appetite themselves. There's nothing like bonding over food!" Chouji finished enthusiastically and Naruto sweatdropped. 'Chouji is kind of strange…'

"So, what is your type? Girls with short tempers, god-like wrath and unhealthy obsessions with other men?" Chouji asked while grinning widely and Naruto huffed angrily. "… Sakura doesn't have god-like wrath." "Sorry, my mistake, devil-like wrath." "Hey!" Chouji chuckled good naturedly and gave Naruto a small smile.

"Well, if it doesn't work out with Sakura, just remember that there are other fish in the sea." Chouji set down the money for his ramen and stood up, making sure to look Naruto straight in the eyes.

"Uhh… Yes?" And then Naruto felt warm lips against his cheek, he froze in shock.

When he finally came back to his senses, Chouji was nowhere to be seen.

'Chouji really is strange…' He thought as he brushed his fingers against cheek, fully aware of the blush making it's way across his face.

And then he became aware of the way Ayame, the waitress was looking at him.

"Wh-what are you starring at!" Ayame clasped her hands together and sighed happily. "Gay boys are so cute!"

Naruto blushed.


	14. LeeNaru

Warnings: None really, but just for the people who haven't watched the massive amount of filler episode, Lee actually does sleepwalk. (Well, sleeptrain, but close enough.)

Pairing: Lee/Naruto

Summary: Lee has a tendency to sleepwalk, and Naruto's having a bought of insomnia, so what does he do when someone's knocking on his door in the middle of the night? Open it of course!

Genre: Romance, homor

Rating: PG

""-speech

''-thoughts

When he had first heard the knocking on his door in the middle of the night, Naruto was sure he was just hearing things. After all, why the hell would anyone want to visit him when all the sane people were sleeping? That and the knocks were slow and didn't sound the least bit urgent. He must have been hearing things.

But when the knocking didn't stop, Naruto found himself to be quiet annoyed. So what if he wasn't actually going to get any sleep, that knocking was really starting grate his nerves.

"Damn whoever is knocking straight to hell and back." He muttered to himself as he walked stiffly towards the door, still clothed in his orange jumpsuit. He grasped the knob tightly and yanked the door open, mouth already opening to scream at whoever was on the other side, but upon seeing who it was his mouth clenched shut and his eyes bulged.

"What the- Lee!"

And indeed, Rock Lee stood in front of him, his arms limp at his sides, his head lolled over to the right, in a pair of green pajamas, snoring. Naruto sweatdropped and carefully poked Lee's nose, the other boy muttered something under his breath, but that was the only reaction he got.

'He must be sleepwalking! What am I supposed to do with him, I can't wake him up because then he'll go into shock, but-'

As Naruto was thinking things over, he didn't notice Lee making his way into his house until the other boy was already inside and wondering around blindly, knocking random empty ramen cups over and generally messing Naruto's apartment up.

"Damn it! I was going to clean up tonight to!" Naruto quickly rushed over to the dark haired boy and grabbed onto his arm, dragging him into the hallway and pushing him into his room before quickly locking the door.

"I just hope he can't open knobs in his sleep, I really wanted to clean up tonight." He muttered to himself, frowning as he heard a dull knocking from inside his bedroom. "I guess I'll have to do my room last, I just hope he doesn't do too much damage in there."

An hour later, the faint knocking from inside his room still hadn't stopped and although Naruto could easily tune it out, he had to wonder why the hell Lee was softly hitting his stuff.

'I just hope he doesn't get into some intense dream about training and then proceed to trash my room.' Naruto gripped the feather duster in his hand and threw a glance over to his bedroom door. 'I swear to god if that happens I'll wake him up, going into to shock or not, he's _not_ going to make my room worse!' He turned around and went back to cleaning, unaware that the knocking had stopped and not hearing the low creak of his bedroom door opening.

"Naruto-kun." Naruto whirled around and snickered when he saw Lee hugging a potted plant. "Lee, I don't know if you can hear me or not, but that definitely isn't me." He said while walking forward and trying to pry the plant out of Lee's hands.

"Lee! Let go! Grrr." Naruto ground his teeth together, braced himself and pulled the plant as hard as he could. 'Why the hell is he holding it so tight!' "DAMN IT! LET GO!"

Lee let go… And Naruto went flying backwards. "GAHH!" 'This is what I get for not waking him up and telling him to go home! It's not worth it!' "Owww." He glared at Lee angrily and stood up, placing his plant carefully on his living room table. 'Damn it, I'm not going to let him mess up my apartment, I've gotta wake him up.' He threw a glance over to Lee, who seemed to be trying to grasp the air, and sweatdropped. 'But how do I wake him up?'

"Naruto-kun? Where did you go?" Lee held out his arms and began walking forward, blindly searching.

"Ah! What are you talking about fuzzy brows? I'm right here!" Naruto threw one clenched fist forward, but didn't expect it to be caught by the sleeping boy in front of him.

"Nani!" Lee pulled Naruto into a hug. "There you are Naruto-kun, I was wondering where you'd gone." "Oi! Let me go!" Naruto demanded, stomping onto Lee's foot angrily. 'Dammit, why the hell won't you wake up?'

They were suddenly nose to nose and Naruto leaned back to reclaim some of his personal space. "Naruto-kun, aishiteru." 'WHAT!' The arms around him went limp and Naruto fell back, staring up at Lee with wide eyes as the other boy swayed unsteadily and then fell on his side, sound asleep.

'This had better not be some sort of sick trick.' Naruto crouched over Lee a small blush covering his face. 'Fuzzy brows likes me? I though he liked Sakura-chan!' He went tense as Lee muttered something in his sleep, but relaxed again when he made no movements.

'Gah, this is far to confusing, I think I'd better catch some zs before my sleep deprived mind think about this stuff anymore.' He threw a look over to Lee who was sleeping peacefully on his floor and sighed. 'I guess I could get him a blanket or something.'

Lee could feel the sun on his face slowly waking him up and vaguely wondered when his bed had gotten so firm. 'Now is no time to be thinking such things, now you must begin training with your power of-' He sat up. "YOUTH!" CRACK! "OW!"

Naruto rushed out of his room, sleepily holding a kunai. 'What the-' He caught sight of Lee, hands on his forehead, and his now broken living room table. 'Oh, and for a moment I thought something important was going on.' He began walking back to his room.

"Naruto-kun, where am I?" Naruto didn't even bother to stop and turn around when he answered. "My house." And he sluggishly made his way into his room while Lee sat on the floor, blushing.

'How did I get here… Did I… Sleep walk?' Lee nervously looked around. 'That's the only way I could have gotten here, unless Naruto decided to kidnap me during the night. But if I sleepwalked then there a good chance that I…I…' Lee blushed and sighed. 'I suppose it doesn't matter what I could have done while I was asleep, nothing I could ever do or say would make him stray from Sakura-san's side.' Lee dully toyed with the faded red blanket that covered his legs. 'I'd better thank Naruto-kun for letting me stay overnight.'

Lee stood up and went towards Naruto bedroom, peeking inside from the doorway and smiling at Naruto's sleeping form. 'Kawaii.' He made his way into the room and stood beside Naruto's bed. "You sure do fall asleep fast Naruto-kun, but I suppose it's because you probably spend half the night keeping me out of trouble. Anyways, thanks for caring." Lee finished monotonously as he it his lip, his eyes glancing around the room nervously.

And he left Naruto with a soft kiss of the cheek.

Blue eyes slowly opened and Naruto yawned tiredly. 'Well, I guess he doesn't know the difference between being asleep and being half asleep.' He glanced at his alarm clock and groaned, he had to be at the bridge in fifteen minutes. 'And I'll probably be thinking about Lee's ki- what Lee said all during training.' Naruto sighed, his face pink as he began to change.

Ands indeed Lee's 'words' had distracted him all throughout training, he was finding hard to block and evade Sakura's attacks and even found himself being sliced every once in a while by her shuriken or kunai. He had finally managed to win after twenty minutes of one on one combat, but as soon as he brought his kunai away from Sakura's throat he suddenly became aware of his own injuries.

'I must have been pretty spaced out for Sakura to have hit me this many times.' Naruto grimaced, sure he'd be completely healed in thirty minutes at the most, but that didn't help his wounded pride.

"Alright, training's over today." "What! Why?" Naruto and Sakura demanded angrily, Kakashi just flipped through his book lazily. "Because I said so."

Sakura spun on her heel and stomped into the direction of her house while Naruto casually turned to walk away, before his sensei's voice stopped him.

"I don't know what had you so distracted today Naruto, but you'd better get things cleared up before tomorrow's mission." Naruto nodded wordlessly and walked away, constantly aware of the dull stings coming from his small wounds. 'I can't believe Sakura got me that many times, at least I didn't get hit too bad, I'd never live it down."

"Naruto-kun! Are you alright!" Naruto stiffened and turned towards Lee. "Of course I'm alright! I'm right as rain and fit as a fiddle!" He began stretching as if to prove his point, it wasn't working.

"Naruto-kun, you've got cuts all over, were you training with Sasuke-kun?"

There had never been a blow to his pride quite as strong as the one that question had produced.

"Uh, not exactly…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Oh, were you training with Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto squinted and looked away. "Yeah, that's it, but he was going pretty easy on me…" 'Speaking of Kakashi-sensei, I'm supposed to clear things up between me and Lee now. How does one go about doing that?' Only one thought came to mind.

"Hey Lee?" "Yes?" Naruto gave Lee a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks for caring."


	15. SaiNaru

Warnings: Sai may be a bit OOC, AU

Pairing: Sai/Naruto

Summary: A little 'friendly competition' in art class never harmed anyone, but after class one day something happens that makes Naruto think over a few things.

Genre: Romance

Rating: PG-13 to be safe

""-speech

''-thoughts

Ramen was hungrily slurped down by a pair of greedy lips as the lunch hour slowly ticked away, but the blonde teenager did not care about the time, nor the place so long as he got his ramen.

As of late he had been turning down his friends invitations to sit with them and had headed for the art hall of the school, he knew they were beginning to worry, but he couldn't help but want to be alone, ever since…

'Ever since Sasuke moved away, everything's been different.' Naruto tossed his empty ramen cup into a nearby trashcan and lazily stood up and turned towards the window.

'I can't believe it's been a month since he moved away, and he hasn't even e-mailed me or anything.' He pressed his forehead against the cool glass as he held back tears that were threatening to fall. 'We've been through so much together Sasuke, you, me and Sakura, have you forgotten about us already?' He heard footsteps coming closer and he glanced at the direction of the sound out of the corner of his eye, the art hall was almost always deserted at lunch time.

It was a boy, probably his age, with black hair and black eyes and a smile that looked fake. 'He… He kind of looks like Sasuke.'

The boy walked past him without a glance in his direction and entered one of the art rooms. Naruto's brow furrowed and he bit his lip. 'This guy must be new, or else he'd be picking on me just like all those other guys.'

Naruto had always been a bit of an outcast, until a group project landed him with Sakura and Sasuke and the three of them had become friends, with Sasuke as his ally no one dared to bully him like before. But now Sasuke was gone, and not even Naruto's circle of friends could protect him from everyone.

The warning bell rang and Naruto sighed wearily, gathering his books and casting a look at the room occupied by that strange new boy. 'I wonder if he'll be in my art class.'

After lunch was English, normally Naruto wasn't extraordinary with the subject, but he was lucky enough to sit by Sakura, who although would get easily annoyed if he asked for too much help, she'd always go out of her way to explain things to him.

They'd gotten a lot closer after Sasuke left, so she didn't lose her temper with him as often.

And then there was art class, which sadly none of his friends had. So he was always stuck in a room of complete strangers who for no reason at all disliked him, for over an hour.

Naruto opened the art room door and made his way into the class, moving past tables and chairs till he reached the very back, his eyes widened in surprise when he saw the boy from before sitting at his table.

The other boy lifted his head from his work and blue eyes met black for the very first time.

"Hello, I haven't stolen your seat have I?" He smiled that fake looking smile again and Naruto shook his head. "No, and worry about stealing anyone else's seat, I'm usually the only one who sits at this table." He said awkwardly as he pulled up a stool and sat down across from the other boy. "I'm Naruto by the way, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto gave his trademark grin, with his eyes squinted shut and the other boy replied with: "My name's Sai." And he went back to sketching.

Their classmates at the other tables were all talking amongst themselves until their teacher let out a loud whistle.

"Children, children, how many times do I have to tell you, you're in grade eleven, act more mature!" She shot a glare at a pair of still talking students. "Isn't that right Mr. Izumo and Mr. Kotetsu?" She leaned in close and both boys sweatdropped. "Yes Ma'am."

"Good! Now today we're finally taking a break from art history and are going onto a new studio project. We'll be making wire sculptures. Now, if you don't want you sculpture to be just wire you can papier-mâché it over, put a nylon stocking over it, I don't really care, just so long as your sculpture embodies one emotion. Anger, joy, frustration ect. Supplies are at the front, now get to work!"

Naruto smiled to himself, he may not be able to draw or paint, but sculpture was something he was good at, or at least that as what Sasuke always told him, and he had no reason to think Sasuke wasn't telling the truth.

Naruto excitedly jumped into the project, an idea already forming in his mind's eye, he was starting to cut his wire and shape it when a voice asked. "Aren't you going to form a plan?"

Naruto looked up at the boy across from him and his eyes fell on the other's sketchbook, the page was opened to an unfinished drawing of a dancing girl, but even uncompleted it was a beautiful drawing. 'Wait, I should probably answer his question before he wonders why I'm zoning out.'

"I'm not good at drawing, so I usually just skip the planning stage and go straight into what my idea is!" "That's a bit reckless." Naruto shrugged his shoulder and grinned and Sai went back to work.

At the end of the period Naruto had already finished the basic skeletal frame and had stapled it onto his base. 'This is going to be my best project ever, I'll get the highest mark in the class for sure!' The bell rang and students rushed out, eager to get out of school, while Naruto carefully put away his art and grabbed his bag, loudly saying a goodbye to Sai, who still hadn't moved from his spot at the desk.

'I guess he just wants to catch up to me, he did spend the whole period drawing after all, either he's a perfectionist, or he's slow.' Naruto thought back to how good the picture of the dancing girl had been. 'Alright, decision made, he's a perfectionist.'

"Naruto! Get a move on!" "Coming Sakura-chan!" Naruto made a mad dash towards his friends, and the new boy was all but forgotten.

The next day's art class started off with a bang, or rather a: "WHAT! How'd you get so much done by just staying after school?"

Sai looked up from his life like wire tree, carefully moving the pliers away from its mini branches and leaves. "I'm a fast worker, Naruto, especially once I'm done with my planning." The teacher had come up behind Sai and smiled broadly, her purple hair blowing dramatically in the breeze cause by the fan that she'd turned on just for the occasion.

"The perfect worker and the perfect artist!" She sighed dreamily. "My best student in years!"

Naruto sweatdropped and looked back to Sai's work, the tree was only taking up half of the base he'd chosen. "What are you gonna do on the right side?" Sai glanced up at him with a smile. "You'll see."

He wasn't sure if it was Sai's arrogant sounding tone of voice, (Well, it was actually quite polite, but Naruto was sure he was mocking him!), or just his own need to be the best, but that period Naruto worked as fast and hard as he could, all the while whishing he could just leap over the table and punch Sai's face in.

'He didn't seem that rude before, maybe his true face is showing.' Naruto scowled and worked vigorously with the war, uncaring of the scratches he got from the sharp ends. 'I'm gonna make the best sculpture Sai, I'm gonna show the teacher who the 'perfect artist' is!'

The bell rang and the other student left, but Naruto wasn't going anywhere, not until Sai packed up his stuff and left, he could be commited to something if he really wanted to be, and right now he wanted to make the best wire sculpture ever! Even better than Sai's of the tree and the dancing girl, obviously expressing peace or serenity. Naruto's was of a snarling fox, lowered to the ground as if ready to leap and attack. He was almost done!

He wasn't sure how long he had been in the art room after school, but when he was finally competed it looked as though the sun was about to go down. He glanced over at Sai and saw that his sculpture was pretty much finished.

'I can't believe he's patient enough to add a ribbon in the girl's hair!' Naruto looked down at his own sculpture, the fox's teeth were barred and its eyes squinted, but it was nearly as detailed as Sai's.

'Grrr. I'll just have to work extra hard on every project until I beat him! He must have some sort of weakness!'

The school year went on and Naruto found that most of his time was being taken up by art, his teacher was delighted by his spirit, but no matter what the project, Sai's was always better than his. Even if he came in early in the morning, at lunch and after school to work on a project, it was never as good as Sai's, and it was driving him insane!

It was the final project of the year, a painting done in acrylic, Naruto's most hated type of art. The teacher hadn't said much about the project, only that it was supposed to look as realistic as possible. It had taken two whole days for Naruto sketch out his idea, it was of him, Sakura and Sasuke all standing in a doorway. Sasuke was leaning against the left wall casually, Sakura was standing close to Sasuke, playing with the hem or her dress and blushing, and he was doing a peace sign to the both of them from.

It had taken him so long to just draw it, it was going to take him forever to paint it! But luckily Sai had been sick for the last couple of days, so Naruto was still ahead of him.

'Just as long as I pace myself, I'll be able to have the best painting!' Naruto thought happily as he entered the art room, uncaring of all the stares he got from the other students, life was good, life was great, life was wonde-

"Hello Naruto." Naruto stopped mid-step and slowly turned around, Sai was right behind him, looking completely healthy. Damn.

Sai had finished his planning in class and had grabbed a piece of canvas minutes before class ended.

Naruto had finished the background by the time Sai had stopped sketching on the canvas and Naruto couldn't help but lean over to try and see what Sai had created.

"You remind me of my brother." Naruto's head snapped up and his eyes locked on Sai, who was walking around the table to Naruto's side.

"I'm not quite sure why someone like you reminds me of him, but you do." Naruto frowned and opened his mouth to retort, but it was soon conveniently covered by a pair of soft lips.

'What the fuck!' Naruto pushed Sai away, his cheeks flushed. "Do you have incestuous thoughts about your brother often then!" He asked, already backing away, but Sai matched him step for step and soon had him pinned up against the wall.

Sai leaned in close and Naruto felt his knees go weak. "S-stay away from me." He didn't sound convincing, not in the least. 'I'm not attracted to Sai! I like girls! I like Sakura-chan!' But even as he was trying to reassure himself he could feel his breathing hitch as Sai loomed closer still.

"I don't know what it is about you Naruto, but when I look at you I feel something…" Sai said with a smile, and Naruto mildly wondered if this smile was as fake as every other one Sai ever gave him. But he had no more time to think that over when Sai's lips were on his again. The kiss was demanding and possessive and just so hot that Naruto had to grab onto Sai's shoulder to steady himself so that he wouldn't fall to the floor.

They both broke apart, gasping for breath and Naruto's eyes widened at what he had just done, He had been kissed by a boy, a BOY and he had kissed back!

He tore himself from Sai's embrace and ran out of the room. He needed words of wisdom, he needed a shoulder to cry on, (not that he was gonna cry) he needed Sakura!

He ran the whole way to her house and pounded on the door until it finally opened and reviled an angry looking Sakura. But the anger faded away when she saw it was Naruto and that he looked on the verge of tears. (Tears that would not fall!)

Sakura lead him up to her room where he had told her everything, his little 'competition' with Sai, the kiss, and well, how he felt when being kissed. And the whole time Sakura listened, a concerned look on her face.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong with me?" Naruto asked and Sakura felt her heart squeeze painfully in her chest at his broken tone of voice. "Naruto, nothing's wrong with you." "But I like it! I liked the kiss! I liked the way Sai seemed to need me, they way he said I made him feel…" Sakura hugged Naruto close and whispered softly in his ear. "It's okay if you like him Naruto. Neither I nor any of your friends will think less of you because of it." "But-" "No buts young man, tomorrow you're going to walk straight up to that boy, tell him that you like him and then you can get kissed by him all you want."

Naruto pouted. "I think you're missing the point here Sakura-chan." "What that you're ego is too big to admit you like someone." Sakura giggled and Naruto cracked a smile. "Yeah, I guess it's something like that." "Well don't worry about it, just approach him tomorrow after school and let your instincts guide you. Don't worry about the consequences of your words or actions, just do what you think is right."

The next day Naruto didn't go in early, he didn't go in at lunch, he contemplated skipping art for awhile, but decided to go anyway, and he spent the rest of the period in silence, throwing glances over at Sai and wondering what he was going to say to him. And even by the end of the class when Sai approached him and asked him if he was okay he had no words to say to express whatever it was he felt.

So he settled for kissing, kissing seemed like a fine and dandy thing to do. And it was even better when Sai began kissing back.


	16. AsumaNaru

A/N: For anyone still reading this, sorry this is late but I have an excuse for it! You see, I had last weekend off for prom, and before prom I was working six days in a row, that left me this week to write, and I still had to work Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Today. So… Um, Gomen!

Warnings: Well, obvious age gap but there's nothing too bad in this, may contain slight spoilers, but I'm pretty sure most people know about them.

Pairing: Asuma/Naru

Summary: The three teams go to 'get to know each other' by spending a weekend at a nearby hot springs resort. Asuma gets stuck sharing a room with Naruto.

Genre: Not too much romance, more WAFF than anything

Rating: PG 13 for the occasional swear

""-speech

''-thoughts

When he had first heard the idea, his first thought was: 'Fuck, can I smoke there?' quickly followed by: 'Does it matter? At least I get a break from paperwork.' Of course it would have been a lot better if it was only his team, Ino was a handful and a half already, but having to keep track of all the kids and making sure they weren't causing trouble… Damn.

But one did not mess with Tsunade-sama's orders, ever since Sasuke's attempt to 'run away' the fifth Hokage had been planning to try and force the three teams into creating 'strong bonds of friendship,' so that the Uchiha would stay put.

He really didn't see the point of the trip, since the Uchiha seemed stable enough and Uzumaki was the strongest tie to the village he had, and he really didn't think the Kyuubi host was going to encourage the ice king to 'follow his dreams' any time soon. But alas, he wasn't the type to deny himself a free vacation, and that's where his trouble really began.

Tsunade-sama was apparently a cheap woman and would only pay for six rooms, meaning everyone was going to double up. He had gazed at the pairs list uncaring, Shikamaru with Chouji, Kurenai with Hinata, Ino with Sakura… It wasn't until he saw his own name that an emotion made its way over his face, shock. 'I'm with Uzumaki?' He had expected to be with Shikamaru or Chouji, or even Kakashi, why the hell wasn't Uzumaki with Sasuke!

He had immediately addressed his concern to the Hokage, but, well, it seemed she had a good enough reason for pairing them up.

"Sasuke is with Kakashi because Kakashi will be able to tell if the boy is doing anything that can be considered strange. Naruto isn't too bright of a kid, as much as I love the boy, and he'll probably believe whatever excuse Sasuke would give him. Ino and Sakura are together because despite their antics they are capable of getting along together, I wouldn't want to throw Hinata in with one of them as they'd probably make her extremely uncomfortable, so I paired her up with Kurenai."

It was at this point that Asuma's cigarette practically fell from his wide open mouth. 'So she actually planned it out to be like this.'

"Kiba is with Shino because Shino is the only one who isn't too affected by Kiba's ramblings, if Naruto was with Kiba they'd get into a fight, and if Naruto was with Shino Naruto would probably go crazy from the silence. Shikamaru and Chouji are staying together for obvious reasons, so that left you and Naruto."

He had tried to convince himself it would be fine, it was only for one weekend, but what if Uzumaki tried pranking him in the middle of the night? He was known more for his mischievous conquests than his actions as a ninja after all.

'Don't worry; you know that the kid doesn't do that stuff anymore, or at least no big pranks.' He had taken a long drag of his cigarette before dropping it to the ground and crushing it under his foot. 'Tomorrow is gonna be _fun_.'

"WHAAAAT?" "Naruto! Keep it down!" "B-but Sakura-chaaaaan, why am I sharing a room with Asuma-sensei?"

Asuma smirked from behind them. "If you really need to know, you can go ask Tsunade-sama right now, and she'll give you a list of reasons why." Naruto and Sakura had both turned almost mechanically around when they heard the older man's voice and were now staring straight at him. He casually flicked away the ash on his cigarette before inhaling more of the bitterly sweet smoke.

Naruto had a small frown on his face and he coughed lightly muttering. "You'd better not smoke around me." Before stomping off in Sasuke's direction, Sakura not far behind.

'It seems the kid ain't to keen on being with me either. Meh.' He really could bring himself to care too much, the feeling was mutual.

"Alright kids, we're leaving now and we're going to get there around noon, and remember, don't do anything I wouldn't do." Kakashi lectured, all of his students seemed to frown and twitch as he whipped out his Icha Icha Paradise book.

'Noon eh? I guess I'm gonna start drinking early then.' Hot springs were fine and dandy every once in a while, but drinking was just so much more fun. 'I wonder if I can get Kurenai and Kakashi to join in on this.' He exhaled a puff of smoke and glanced in the other teachers direction. 'Probably won't be to hard, send all the kids off to the springs and then let the sake flow.'

It was, in fact, _extremely_ easy to get Kurenai and Kakashi to join him in drinking sake once they had arrived, unpacked all their stuff and sent the kids on their way. It was one o' clock when they started.

"Oi Asuma, take it easy or you'll get drunk before five o' clock rolls around." Kakashi said humorously and Asuma paused mid-drink. "Maybe if I get smashed off my face I won't remember having to deal with the kid sharing my room." He muttered and Kakashi's eye squinted.

"Naruto's not that bad of a kid. He's really great once you bother getting to know him. Besides, Sasuke's best friends with him and Sasuke hardly likes _anybody_, that alone must say something." "He's right Asuma, we've all seen how Naruto's become a better student, and he doesn't even pull pranks anymore. He's a good kid." Kurenai piped up and Asuma shrugged his shoulders. "If you say so. But at least you two get to share rooms with calm, quiet children." Asuma took a small sip of sake, savoring the flavor. 'I guess he has become less annoying, I just hope I don't wake up with a hangover and Naruto screeching at me.' That thought immediately caused Asuma to stop drinking for several hours. The mere thought of Naruto yelling at him if he was hung-over was enough to send a shiver up his spine. 'That would hurt.'

He walked gracelessly to his room at nine thirty, a bit tipsy, but not really drunk. He opened the door slowly and made his way inside, and collapsing on his bed, not even bother to change into pajamas.

'I can't believe the kids aren't out of the hot springs yet, they're gonna look like lobsters once they finally get out of there.' He thought softly as he stifled a yawn, the alcohol running though his veins was making him warm and tired and he could feel his eyelids growing heavy, and then the door creaked open.

He was just beginning to open his mouth to tell the 'intruder' to be quiet, but then his eyes caught sight of the figure.

Golden hair dripping wet and for once obeying gravity, half opened crystal blue eyes glazed over from weariness, tanned skin tinted pink and gleaming in the lamplight.

It might have been from the sake he'd been drinking, but the boy looked good, all flushed from a day at the spring, yes, definitely the sake.

"Oi Uzumaki, have a nice time?" He asked as nicely as he could manage while inwards shaking his head at the fluttering his heart made from his second long gaze at the kid.

Naruto nodded his head briefly, a frown marring his beautiful features and Asuma's eyebrows furrowed, what had the kid's panties in a knot?

"Asuma-sensei, could you please call me Naruto? Everyone else does and it feels weird when someone calls me by my last name." Asuma's eyebrows rose slightly, that was why the kid looked so depressed? "Sure, whatever you want Naruto." A small, serene looking smile broke out on the boy's face and Asuma felt oddly dejected when he had to turn away from that warm smile to hide the blush staining his cheeks.

'It's just the sake, it's just the sake. Uzuma-Naruto isn't nearly this appealing when you haven't been drinking.'

"Asuma-sensei, are you all right?" Naruto asked worriedly as he took a step closer to the older man.

"I'm fine Naruto, I think I've just had a bit too much to drink, I'll be fine in the morning." "Oh…" Asuma could almost swear he heard hints of sadness in the voice; maybe he had been to cold? No, the boy was used to Sasuke, so he must be used to cold responses. 'I think this is the beginning of a long night.'

"Is there anything I can do to help?" 'Yeah, stay away from me till I sober up.' "No." "Alright…" Naruto shuffled to his bed and Asuma could help but have his eyes follow the movement. "Goodnight Asuma-sensei." The lights were turned off and Asuma could hear the boy shift around on the bed and his breathing become even as he drifted off to sleep.

'Don't worry, I'm sure you'll have your head back on straight in the morning.' Asuma thought to himself as his eyelids dropped down and he too was carried off into dreamland.

He woke up late the next morning, the sun was already up and Naruto was already out of bed, and judging from the slight pain in his stomach, he had definitely missed breakfast and lunch was fast approaching.

'Ah. It's good to be in my right state of mind again.' He stretched his arms over his head and cracked his neck before hopping off the bed and putting on a clean pair of clothes. 'Maybe I'll go down to the springs today, have a nice long soak.' He strode down the hallways, making a quick stop at the cafeteria for a cup of coffee and a muffin before making his way to the game room.

'Maybe I can con Shikamaru into play chess with me, he'll probably do it, maybe.' A small smile stretched across his face as he entered the room, but the smile was quickly replaced by a look of shock and he jumped back into the hallway.

"Please Shikamaru, you're not doing anything eyes!" "It's far too troublesome, no." "But Shiiikkkkaaaamaaruuuu, if you teach me, then the next time you want to play chess, you can ask me!" "No." "But I'll keep bugging you like this if you don't teach me! Isn't that the overall most troublesome thing!" Shikamaru was silent for a while and then sighed before picking up a chess piece.

"This is called a pawn, it can only move one space forward-"

Asuma watched with slightly interest as Shikamaru went through the basics of chess with the other boy, even though he personally knew Shikamaru _should_ be far to lazy to teach anyone anything. 'So why is he bothering to teach Naruto chess?' He was going to find out, it couldn't just be because Naruto threatened to annoy him, Ino always whined about Shikamaru not helping her carry around things and Shikamaru never faltered in his opinion, that it was too troublesome.

He had waited outside the room for a least an hour before Naruto got up and left, sincerely thanking Shikamaru for bothering with him before leaving through the opposite door. Shikamaru turned back to the chess board and began to put the pieces back in place.

"Oi Asuma-sensei, are you going to stand outside the door all day, or are you going to come in and play a game." Asuma stepped into the room uneasily, he should have known that at least one of the two would have noticed him, other than ducking behind the door he hadn't really tried to hide his presents.

He stepped forward and sat in the chair opposite Shikamaru and moved a pawn, Shikamaru did the same.

"Why did you bother teaching Naruto chess?" Another pawn moved. "Is it because you couldn't stand him annoying you." Pawn.

"Actually, I did it because I might as well have more than one person to play chess with." Bishop.

"But you have to admit, having him annoying you until you caved in would probably be pretty bad." Knight.

Shikamaru glanced up from the bored, his eyebrows pinched together and his lips pursed in a frown. "You know," he began as he watched Asuma bring forward another pawn. "For years I wondered why everyone seemed to hate Naruto," He moved his other knight. "Sure he played some pranks, but that couldn't have been enough." His sharp eyes followed Asuma's movements as the older man moved forward another pawn.

"I figured it out during the Chuunin exam." Shikamaru's eyes met Asuma's as he idly toyed with a Bishop. "Red chakra, his birthday, the villagers hating him. Kyuubi was sealed inside of him." The Bishop was moved forward.

"If you know, then why-" "Am I friends with him?" Asuma nodded, his mind completely loosing grip of his chess match as he moved a pawn forward. "Only idiots would believe it's actually Naruto's fault that all those people died years ago. Besides, although he is rather troublesome at times, he's one of the best friends someone could have." He moved a Knight forward. "Checkmate."

Asuma looked down at the board in shock, during the conversation he had left his Queen completely open. "I think that's a new record." "No, I've beaten you in five moves before." Shikamaru replied dryly as he lifted himself out of his chair. "I think I've had enough if chess for today, I'll see you around Asuma-sensei."

Asuma lazily rearranged the pieces before a rumbling in his stomach reminded him the lunch was almost over. 'Alright, time to get some food in me.'

He arrived in his room five hours later with a dinner tray in his hands. He had just spent four _wonderful_ hours soaking in the springs before he finally decided that if he stayed in much longer he'd turn a very feminine shade of pink.

He carefully set down the tray on his bedside table. It was a simple meal of rice, miso soup and grilled fish, but he practically inhaled it all the same. 'Damn it I really need a cigarette.' He thought woefully as he felt his pants pocket, the small carton rested just under the fabric and his eyes glanced over to the door of the room, and then over to the balcony door. 'I'm sure as long as I don't smoke inside the room no one'll get pissed at me.' He stood up and moved towards the balcony door, heaving it open and sucking in the fresh evening air before he fumbled within his pockets for his lighter and cigarettes.

He inhaled the smoke deeply and his eyes fluttered shut. 'Having one of these against my lips again is like having the lips of a lover pressed against mine… Or at least something like that.' He savored every sweet puff until the stick hardly went past his fingers and he then crushed it against the railing and threw it to the side. He vaguely thought about lighting another one, but quickly squashed the idea, he was lucky Naruto hadn't come in for the first one, he wasn't going to push his luck.

'I guess I'll just have to wait until Sunday night when we're back home, and then I can smoke a whole pack.' A satisfied grin spread over his lips as he opened the door to go back in the room.

"What were you on the balcony for Asuma-sensei?" Asuma nearly jumped out of his skin and his eyes locked on Naruto's still form.

"No reason, just checking out the sun set. Whatcha reading?" "Nothing." The boy pulled the book closer to his face and Asuma shrugged his shoulders before making his way to his side of the room and changing into his pajamas, which were really just a pair of faded pants, and slipped into bed. 'Maybe if I go to sleep now I'll wake up and can have another smoke before Naruto gets up.' He allowed himself to relax his body and in mere minutes he was already drifting off…

… Only to be awoken seemingly moments later but the sound of hushed sobs.

Asuma opened his eyes slowly and all he saw was inky blackness, he allowed himself a few minutes for his eyes to adjust to the very little light before he discreetly turned on his side.

Naruto was crying. Had it been in another other situation or any other person, Asuma probably would have told them to stop crying and start acting like a man. But he'd never seen the boy cry, hell, he'd hardly every seen the boy without a grin on his face. He silently crept out of his bed and knelt down beside the weeping boy.

"Naruto? What's the matter?" It took a few more sniffles before Naruto responded. "Nothing." Asuma almost rolled his eyes at the reply. "It's obvious something is wrong, so just tell me what it is already." Naruto began crying harder and Asuma almost smacked himself. 'Come on, try and be a little more understanding, he won't tell you if you're a complete bastard to him.' "Look Naruto, sorry for snapping at you, but could you please tell me what's wrong, maybe I could help you."

It seemed those words broke the dam and suddenly Naruto had hurled himself into Asuma's unsuspecting arms and began to softly stammer his problems.

"I-It's just th-that I don't like the th-thought of Sasuke being with Kakashi-sen-sensei and n-not me. I know it's str-strange, but Sasuke depends on m-me and I don't wa-wanna let him down. I can't s-stop feeling like if he's away from my side for one s-second, that he'll go b-back to Orochimaru a-and forget all about me!" 'Who could ever forget about you?'

Asuma gently ran his hands through the boy's hair, something he knew used to calm him down when he was a kid and thought the monsters in his closet were coming after him. "Don't worry Naruto, one weekend of you not being glued to Sasuke's hip will probably be good for him. He can't lean on you forever, that's the reason we all came here, Tsunade-sama wanted Sasuke to get closer with everyone."

Naruto's tears had stopped, but his breathing was still hitched from his crying. Red rimmed blue eyes sought out Asuma's own and Asuma couldn't help but feel the need to protect the owner of those innocent eyes.

"Asuma-sensei, d-do you think that Sasuke will ever get along with everyone?" Asuma stopped running his hands through Naruto's hair and he began to idly play with the soft, silken strands.

"I don't know about everyone, but there must be at least a couple others that he could accept as his friend. Maybe Shino." Naruto chuckled a bit at that and Asuma had to stifle a smile from spreading across this face. 'Not this again, you do not find this boy attractive in any way, shape or form.'

"Anyways, crying your heart out is an exhausting business, you should get some shut eye." Naruto apparently wasn't listening as he burrowed himself into Asuma's warm chest. "Thanks for listening Asuma-sensei." He said softly and Asuma outwardly scoffed and inwardly sighed. "No problem kid, now how about you get back into bed." "No, you're nice and warm." The boy's reply was almost a whisper now and Asuma had a bad feeling that he was going to fall asleep griping his waist.

"Come on Naruto, don't fall asleep on me now." Too late, the boy was already gone to the land of the living and was still gripping Asuma tightly around the waist.

'If I try and get out of his hold he might wake up, if I stay like this, I think I'm going to have an awkward morning.' But he didn't have the heart to wake the boy up, so he carefully lifted himself and Naruto up onto the bed and settled down for sleep.

'I just hope I can wake up before he does, I don't want to have to explain this.' And Asuma wasn't positive, but he was almost sure he was blushing as he closed his eyes and drifted off.

He woke up feeling warm and content, as if he had slept for ages. He briefly considered laying there for a couple more hours as he allowed his eyes to flutter open, but quickly discarded the idea when he saw a blonde head of hair snuggled into his chest. 'Damn, he's still holding onto me.' He then noticed that his arms had been wrapped around the boy and quickly withdrew them, and small embarrassed blush staining his cheeks. 'I have to get into my bed before he wakes up.' He thought desperately as he began trying to pry Naruto's arms off of him. It didn't work. He tried again, gripping the boy's wrists and trying to remove them. It still didn't work. He squirmed and kicked and tried to wriggle his way out of the grip, the but boy wasn't letting go!

'Alright, he can't have slept through all of that.' Asuma's eyes narrowed, a plan formulating in his mind.

"Do I have to wake you up like sleeping beauty and give you a kiss?" Naruto still didn't move, but Asuma saw a blush spreading over the boy's cheeks and couldn't help but go. 'So sleeping beauty is awake. Kawaii.' But he still needed to detach the boy from him.

"Well…" He whispered, as if to himself. "I've gotta go get a smoke, so I guess I'll just send Kiba in he-" "K-KIBA?" Asuma grinned down at the angry looking boy. 'Well, at least he doesn't have a death grip on me anymore.'

"You had better not send Kiba in here! I don't wanna get kissed by him!" "So you wanna get kissed by me?" Naruto shut up and blushed while Asuma chuckled dryly. "Let's go down to the hot springs, nothing like some warm water to wake you up." Naruto looked up at him confused. "But warm water makes you tired." "Same difference, let's go."

Liquid warmth engulfed his body and Asuma sighed in contentment. He heard a splash to his right and saw Naruto surfacing a couple meters away from him. 'This might not have been one of my best ideas.' He thought to himself as he watched the boy out of the corner of his eye. 'I thinking I'm getting into that drunken state of mind again.'

Naruto leaned against the side of the spring top stretch out his legs, his eyes were half closed and his hair was drooping from previously gained moisture. He was softly muttering and groaning as he fully stretched out in the water. He painted a very attractive picture. His glossy eyes moved to his left and he smiled when he caught sight of Asuma, slowly beginning to make his way towards him.

"Asuma-sensei…" Oh God, the boy was practically purring. "Why were you saying that stuff about waking me up like sleeping beauty?" He boy slumped down beside Asuma and leaned against the older man's side.

'In these situations it is best to keep your cool and lie.' "…" 'Damn I wish I could smoke in here.'

If he didn't do something soon the kid was going to fall asleep slumped against him, and then if something like last night happened, and someone walked in…

'One would think that he got enough sleep last night.' "Oi, Naruto. Wake up." Naruto eyes fluttered open and he playfully glared up at Asuma. "Oh, do you feel like answering my question Asuma-sensei?" Asuma's eyebrow began twitching. 'Tricky kid.' "No, I don't feel like answering your question." Naruto just smirked.

"You know, Sakura-chan once said that people who don't answer your questions have something to hide. And Sakura-chan is always right." "Well if Sakura-_chan_ is so great, why don't you go hang out with her?" "You sound jealous." Asuma briefly glanced down at the victorious smirk of the boy's face. "Well I'm not."

That sat in silence for a couple of minutes, neither of them really knowing what to say until Naruto broke the silence.

"Hey Asuma-sensei?" "Yeah?" Naruto was suddenly gone from his side and standing in front of him, his face looming closer until Asuma could feel the boy's lips pressed against his cheek. "Thank you Asuma-sensei, for caring." Asuma smiled. "No problem Naruto, no problem at all."


	17. IzumoNaru

A/N: For anyone still reading this, sorry this is late but I have an excuse for it! You see, I had last weekend off for prom, and before prom I was working six days in a row, that left me this week to write, and I still had to work Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Today. So… Um, Gomen!

Warnings: AU, kind of shotacon-ish, Naruto will be 17, Izumo will be 22, Izumo may be a bit OOC. They don't show enough of him, so I only know he's kind of mischievous, happy and to my knowledge has no internal angst.

Pairing: Izumo/Naru

Summary: Izumo is a struggling art student, he goes to visit his aunt and finds the perfect model in her adopted son, the little brat who he used to baby-sit, Naruto.

Genre: Romance, Humor

Rating: M 15

""-speech

''-thoughts

Izumo sighed as he lugged his suitcase behind him, march break, reading week, whatever you wanted to call it, all it meant to him was that he had to spend a week, a week with his aunt and her adopted stupid, annoying, infuriating, irritating-

"Izumo! How is my favorite nephew doing?" His aunt, Tsunade, asked as she threw the door open, Izumo sweatdropped a little, wondering vaguely if his aunt had drunken a little sake before his arrival, he really wouldn't put it past her.

"Hey aunt Tsunade, where's the little brat?" Izumo asked as he ruffled his chin length brown hair, black eyes scanning the inside of the house as he stepped inside, he had been on the receiving end of Naruto's pranks to many times to feel completely secure when entering the lair of the little annyiong-

"Naruto's changed a lot, not that you'd know, with how little you visit." Tsunade said and Izumo could feel her hazel eyes glaring at him, but he was to busy dragging his stuff up the stairs to care, his aunt was always touchy-feely if he didn't visit for a awhile, but he'd just never had time once he started collage, so he hadn't visited in what, three years? Not even, it wasn't that bad.

Tsunade huffed as Izumo lead himself to the guestroom, tapping her foot on her hardwood floors, this night was going to be hectic, and the week, ooohhh, this week was going to be horrible, for Izumo anyways, he was going to be spending the whole week alone with Naruto, not that either of them knew that yet. 'I suppose there's no time better than the present to tell him.' She thought to herself as she walked up the stairs, turning to the first room on the right.

"Hey Izumo." She called from the doorway and heard a muffled grunt in reply, she continued. "Naruto's over at a friend's, he'll be back by noon tomorrow, and I'll be leaving at two o' clock sharp on business, I'll be back on your final day here-"

Izumo blocked out the rest of what his aunt was saying, he was going to spend a week alone with the little brat? It was like he was babysitting him all over again!

Flashback

16 year old Izumo was lounging around on the couch, reading The Stone Angel for his English class, unaware of the little blonde slowly creeping up behind him, clutching several ice cubes in his small hands., Izumo didn't notice the back of his collar being lifted, but he did notice the freezing sensation as it struck his warm skin.

"NARUTO!"

End Flashback

Izumo had woken up late in the day and stayed in bed, glaring at his blank 15" by 20" canvas that he had set up last night, his final project, the project that would decide his fate, or at least his mark, and what did he have to paint? Well, the professor only gave them all one word, one word that was supposed to tell them what to paint, and that word was 'beauty'. The project had been assigned a month ago and Izumo knew that some of his other classmates had finished, or at least started the project. But his mind was completely blank.

He laid in bed, thoughts running in and out of his mind a lot like how water ran through a stream, until he heard the loud slamming of a door and a, "HELLO TSUNADE!" from downstairs, which signaled it was noon, or around that, and that Naruto was home. With a sigh Izumo managed to crawl out of bad and made his way down the stairs in his 'pajamas', which consisted of a pair of navy blue boxers… And that's it.

'Hmmm, I wonder what's for breakfast today?' Izumo thought to himself, stretching his arms over his head. 'Maybe some toast, or some waffles or-' Izumo's thoughts were cut short when he heard a cry of. "Izumo!" And he was glomped, which sent both him and his assailant hurtling towards the floor, Izumo bearing the brunt of the 'brutal attack' as he landed painfully on his back. He opened his eyes to glare up and snap at the person who was currently clinging to his side, but he stopped short.

Blue, so blue, had the brat's eyes always been that shade? And had his hair always been that windswept and unkempt, had his grin always been that mischievous and adorable? Izumo knew in his mind that yes, Naruto had indeed always looked like that, but for some reason the boy just seemed so- 'Grown up.' His mind supplied for him as he fought the blush forming on his face. 'He's just grown up now, honestly, the last time you saw the kid he hadn't even hit puberty yet.'

"Izumo? Izumo are you even listening to me?" Naruto pouted and Izumo inwardly admitted that it made the boy look cute, his lower lip jutting out just enough to make him want to capture it between his teeth and- '_Woah_, going a little to far there.' Izumo shook his head, hoping to get rid of the thoughts clouding his mind.

"Hey kid, looks like you finally hit puberty, have you grown at all or are you still a shrimp?" Izumo asked lightheartedly, only realizing his mistake after Naruto glared at him and began making noises in his throat not unlike a growl.

It was never good to upset a boy who was probably better at setting up traps and pranks than Izumo was at drawing.

Tsunade had left at two o' clock, just like she said, and the house had been dangerously quiet ever since, it was now nine and other than cooking himself some ramen and eating it in his room, Naruto hadn't made a peep. This might worry some people a bit, since Naruto usually was so loud and well, annoying, but the silence absolutely terrified Izumo, because he knew better than anyone else that the silence ensured that Naruto was plotting something, and when Naruto did a prank, he went all out.

So it really came as no surprise that when Izumo woke up in the morning and found the words, 'Naruto is my master' written across his canvas in red paint, and written across his chest. He really didn't know how the boy could sneak into his room and write on his chest without waking him up, but Naruto was quiet when he had to be.

Izumo sighed with relief, it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, but still, he could use this little prank to his advantage. With a grin he soundlessly strode out of his room, creeping along until he got to the door of Naruto's room. He opened it with a small creak, but it wasn't enough to wake the boy who was snoring away on the bed.

'I see he still has that beaver nightcap.' Izumo thought with a smile as he crept up to the boy and leaned in, whispering in the boy's ear. "Wake up _Naru-chan_, I have something to discuss with you." Quiet as Izumo might have been, Naruto woke up in an instant, Izumo was a pretty carefree, happy, laid back guy, but if Naruto got him angry enough…

"I think you owe me a bit more than just an apology this time Naruto, unless, of course, you want me to tell my aunt what really happened to her antique vase, or who hid away her gambling money, or what your marks in school were when you 'mysteriously' lost your report card."

Out came the blackmail material, and there was more, a lot more, leading Naruto to believe he should learn to cover his tracks better. "Okay Izumo, what do you want?"

Izumo could have asked for a lot of things at that moment, he could have made Naruto promise that he'd never play a prank on him again, could have had the boy vow to somehow publicly humiliate himself, could have had the boy kiss him, could have had Naruto pinned under him, moaning and writhing- okay, stop those thoughts. The point was, Izumo finally had Naruto where he wanted him.

"I want you to be my model." Naruto blinked a couple of times, mouth forming an 'o'. "What?" Izumo smirked. "You heard me, and I expect you to be ready but the time I'm done showering." He had to wash the paint off of his chest after all, and a cold shower would probably get rid of any 'problems' he might have gotten while his mind was running loose.

27 minutes later and Izumo decided that he loved his life, not only did he have the best idea for his 'beauty' project ever, but he got to order Naruto around, telling him to sit like this, or have your hand out like that, and he had found the perfect way for Naruto to be seated. One knee was drawn up to his chest while the other was tucked to his side, his body was facing away from him, but is face stared right at him, both of his hand rested on his propped up knee. Naruto looked like the innocence personified, of course, Izumo knew the boy better than that, but his teacher wouldn't.

In fact, the only downfall of the whole ordeal was the way Naruto kept complaining. _This is taking too long, are you done yet, can I get some ramen_, Izumo frowned and huffed every time Naruto asked a stupid question, but in his mind, he admitted it was cute.

It took two hours, but finally the basic sketch was done, for today, tomorrow he would finish it, and tomorrow, Naruto would have to be naked.

Izumo tried to convince himself that it was just because he didn't want to do any detailed clothing, he didn't _want_ to see Naruto naked, he _needed_ to see him naked, which sounded even worse when he thought it over, but who was he kidding, he had the hots for Naruto, his annoying adopted cousin.

"Okay kiddo, I'm done for today, so how about we go and get some lunch?" Within seconds Naruto was up and walking towards the door, his needed 'fix' of ramen evident on his face.

Izumo had a lot to think about that night as he gazed up at the bland white ceiling, things like, how exactly would he get Naruto naked? Why was he suddenly feeling an attraction towards the blonde? And, since Naruto was adopted, that made everything slightly better right? Running through his mind like an unstoppable whirlwind. 'I guess I'll just have to tell him that he can't wear any clothes.' _Yeah_, that was _really_ going to work out just _fine and dandy_…

"WHAAAAT! AH! IZUMO WANTS TO SEE ME NAKEEEDDDD!"

Izumo sighed and ran a hand through his hair, annoyed at Naruto obvious over reaction, but slightly pleased at the faint blush running across Naruto's cheeks. 'He's so adorable.'

"You have to be my model, and I need to get a good look at your build, you just need to get in the same position as yesterday for ten minutes at the most-" "Naked!" "Oh come on, the way your sitting it's not like I'll be able to see anything." 'Unless I bribe you to show me.' "And it's not like you've got anything I haven't seen, I'm a male to, remember?"

Poor, sweet, innocent little Naruto seemed to believe him. 'Excellent.' Izumo began to evil cackle in his mind, but stopped after he noticed Naruto was giving him an odd look. "What?" "I just asked you to leave my room." 'Oops, time to cover my tracks.' "Sorry about that, I was just thinking of what colours I'd mix to get your skin tone." Izumo explained as he walked out of the room, heaving a sigh of relief as he closed the door behind him. 'That was close.' He strode into his room, setting up his easel and canvas, getting out his paints and brushes, visualizing what Naruto would look like if he began ravishing him as soon as he walked into the room.

His thoughts were interrupted by a timid knock. "Come in." Izumo held his breath as Naruto entered, wearing a light blue bathrobe, blushing a shade of red and Izumo new his classmates would kill to have bottled up as paint.

"Umm, could you turn around?" Izumo did, restraining the need to turn around as he heard the soft sound of the cloth dropping onto the hardwood floor, the supple sound of his bed yielding under the boy's slight weight, the slight groan of the springs as Naruto shifted into position, the muttered "I'm ready" that slipped out from between those soft, pliable lips. By the time Izumo had caught up with where his mind was headed and turned around, he used what little willpower he had to keep his eyes from wondering over Naruto's physique.

'Concentrate on sketching, concentrate on sketching.' Was the mantra going through his mind as he slowly reached for a pencil, carefully mapping out the body he wanted to reach out and memorize with his hands.

Naruto was getting impatient. "Izumooooo." He whined. "You said ten minutes, and it's been over twenty!" Izumo ignored him, he had to get the sketch to mirror the perfection laid out before him. Meanwhile, as each second passed by, said perfection was slowly getting more and more irritated, a scowl making its way onto his usually sweet face.

"Don't frown like that Naruto, you'll wrinkle before your time." "GAH!" Naruto quickly stood up, hands on his hips. "You're taking way too long! I'm not posing for you anymore, it's been twice as long as you said it would be!" "Good thing I finished before you got up." Izumo sighed happily, his eyes raking up and down Naruto's lithe body, happy that the boy seemed too preoccupied with angrily clenching his fists and muttering under his breath to care.

Izumo slept fitfully that night, constantly waking up believing that he was looking into sapphire eyes, or kissing soft lips. He needed to act, fast. He only had so much time before he'd have to leave for school, and then in a few mere months he'd be out, school completely finished. But in order for him to properly enjoy his summer vacation, he'd need someone to 'come home to.'

And that was why, the next day, without any warning at all, Izumo had swooped down to capture Naruto's lips. He was pleased to find them as soft as he thought they were. Sadly Naruto didn't find the kiss as charming as he'd hoped.

Naruto had broken away, eyes wide, mouth hanging open, luckily Izumo had prepared an excuse.

"It's the easiest way to shut someone up."

Sadly, Naruto hadn't been talking at all at the time, but it seemed that the blonde was too shocked to remember that rather important fact.

Izumo thanked his lucky stars for that.

The next day Izumo had dropped subtle hints, had his hands linger just a little too long to be normal when handing Naruto things, had smiled and leaned in a little to close when Naruto thanked him for something. But the blue eyed boy didn't seem to catch on as quickly as Izumo would have hoped. Which is why he decided that the next day, two days before he would have to leave again for school, that it was time to buckle down.

He had brought Naruto into his room to look at his now complete painting, telling Naruto that it was one of his most beautiful works. Naruto replied with a 'uh-huh'.

"Yes, although I must say, a lot of it has to do with the subject matter." Izumo cast a meaningful glance over at Naruto and the blonde looked back at him, eyebrows furrowing. "Izumo…" "Yes?" Naruto opened his mouth to speak up, but decided against it. "Never mind, it's nothing." But Izumo knew better, he'd just let Naruto get away without telling him what was wrong, for now.

Over lunch Izumo casually mentioned how tomorrow would be his last day until his summer vacation started up, and if could red people as well as he thought he could, Naruto was going to be sad to see him go.

After lunch Naruto had put on a movie for them to watch, Izumo used the entire span of an hour and forty minutes to move from one side of the couch to the other until he was right beside Naruto, then he casually threw back his arm and stretched. He saw Naruto give him a strange look out of the corner of his eyes, but he didn't say anything.

It had been at the end of the day, when Izumo was mentally berating himself for hardly doing anything when he heard Naruto timidly call his name, he turned around and asked what was wrong, his answer was a kiss on the cheek.

'Maybe Naruto did catch on.' Izumo stared at the spot Naruto had been ten seconds ago, Naruto had hugged him, glomped him and even on occasion ruffled his hair, but Naruto had never kissed his cheek before, so Izumo took it as a sign. 'I'll just ask him tomorrow if he has any sort of affection for me.'

But Tsunade had come home early. Izumo's entire last day was spent with his aunt, although his eyes always glanced around when he heard footsteps, but Naruto's form would never enter his sight.

So when he was finished saying goodbye to Naruto the next morning Izumo just decided to _fuck the consequences_, he pulled Naruto in for a kiss and told him.

"I'll be back once summer vacation starts, and I'll want to have a little chat with you once I'm back here." Naruto nodded, his face pink and as Izumo left his aunt's house he found himself wondering if Naruto had ever been in a relationship before, because as soon as the summer came along, Izumo was definitely going to charm his way further into Naruto's heart than he already seemed to be.

The last few months of school had been horribly boring, exams were dull and finishing up projects was a task Izumo did lazily, not compelled to do more than he had to.

When April finally rolled around Izumo was practically jumping off the walls, it was almost over it was almost over!

And then it was, that last day hit him like a tidal wave and then he was firmly pulled out into the calmness of the ocean.

In other words he skipped the last day and immediately made his way over to Tsunade's house, arriving there just before 3:00, Naruto would be home any minute and Tsunade wasn't anywhere to be seen. She must have been at work.

Marvelous.

Izumo paced around nervously for the first five minutes, then sat down and twiddled his thumbs, Naruto must have been walking excruciatingly slow today.

What seemed like eons later Izumo heard the door open, feet shuffle in, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Naruto walk past him, an amused grin spread over his lips as Naruto paused, walked backwards a few paces, and slowly turned to face him.

"IZUMO!" Suddenly there was lapful of blonde boy glomping onto his midsection, speaking at a horribly fast pace, Izumo could hardly make out what he was saying.

"whyareyouheresoearlyshouldn'tyoustillbeinschoolI'msohappythatyoucamebackthoughcauseIwasget-" "Shhh. Naruto I can hardly make out what you're saying." Blue eyes widened and Naruto went back to hugging the life out of him. Izumo shifted uncomfortably, Naruto wasn't exactly seven anymore and his legs were beginning to go numb.

"I really missed you Izumo." Naruto whispered and Izumo practically melted.

"I missed you too Naruto." Their faces were slowly drawing together, neither of them doing anything to stop the inevitable kiss. Their lips met in a soft collision, sliding together roughly as the kiss deepened.

They broke apart, gasping for breath, blue eyes meeting black, serene smiles spreading over their lips.

"Naruto, I love you." Naruto leaned in and kissed Izumo's cheek. "I love you too."

Their lips met again, passion soaring though their bodies as they entered their somewhat forbidden romance.

Oh, and Izumo got an A+ on his final project because his fangirl of a teacher thought that Naruto was the sweetest, most adorable looking boy she'd ever seen in her life.

And Izumo couldn't help but agree with her.


	18. KotetNaru

A/N: For anyone still reading this, sorry this is late but I have an excuse for it! You see, I had last weekend off for prom, and before prom I was working six days in a row, that left me this week to write, and I still had to work Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Today. So… Um, Gomen!

Warnings: Nothing really, AU.

Pairing: Kotetsu/Naru

Summary: Years ago a boy gave a ring to Naruto, and said that whatever he wished for, the ring would make it come true. Naruto's been whishing ever since that the boy would return.

Genre: Romance, WAFF

Rating: PG 13

""-speech

''-thoughts

It had been so long ago when he had moved to this town, away from anything he was used to, away from the grave of his parents, away from his life at the orphanage.

He remembered that he stood on the front doorstep of his new home, his guardian pushing him inside the house. It was cold and dark inside, lifeless. And he, at the time, had wondered if spirits haunted the house, lurking in the unlit corners of every room and congregating in the attic, where his new room was to be.

He remembered the night he tried to run away, one week after he arrived. It had been raining hard and he was soaked within seconds, but he didn't want to go back to that unloving person and that lifeless house. He felt as though he'd been running for hours when he rammed into someone.

He remembered that he had stuttered an apology and got up to run away when a gentle grip on his shoulder held him back and an umbrella was held over his head.

"Little boys shouldn't go around running in the rain, you could catch a cold." The other boy had said, kneeling down to his eyelevel and smiling warmly at him. He had felt his heart beat faster when the other boy's dark eyes met his and he smiled. "Come on, I'll walk you home." The other boy had said, and Naruto, although unsure, had grasped the other boy's hand and had meekly given the directions to his home.

He remembered that when they finally arrived at his house the older boy gripped his hand tighter and gave him a worried look before giving him a reassuring smile as he slipped a ring off of his finger.

"Uzumaki…"

"If you wish on this ring enough, and put all your heart into it-"

"Uzumaki."

"Your wish will come true."

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Use it well."

'I wish… I could see you again.'

"DAMMIT UZUMAKI! WAKE UP!"

Naruto snapped to attention, suddenly aware of the chuckling going on from all areas of the room and he blushed in embarrassment.

"Uzumaki, do you know how many time that is that you've fallen asleep in my class this week." The teacher hissed and Naruto shook his head.

"Four! Four times in one week! I'm calling your parent right after school young man! I can't believe you would have the audacity to-"

Naruto had begun tuning the teacher out, finding much more amusement in fiddling with the ring around the middle finger of his left hand. It was a simple looking ring; the band was a silvery-white colour and there was a blue gemstone on the top, surrounded by a cirlce of tiny rose quartz. A very feminine ring, but Naruto would never take it off.

"-umaki, are you listening?" Naruto nodded mechanically, this teacher was always the same, detention tomorrow at lunch, calling the parental unit, the punishment never changed.

The teacher threw himself back into his lecture and Naruto's gaze was once again pinned on the ring.

'He was the first person who was ever truly nice to me, even at the orphanage I was an outsider. He cared about me, even though he didn't know me…' Naruto's eyes glanced at the clock, thirty nine seconds left of the school day.

'I don't know who you are, where you are or even your name. But I wish you'd come back.' Naruto sighed and began packing up his things. Seven seconds…

And school was out!

Naruto trudged home, the house hadn't changed much at all, it was still dark and musty, like no one had lived there for a while, and his guardian was still as distant as ever, and he still had no friends… 'But I guess that's my fault, I probably pranked everyone too much and now they all just hate me.' Naruto sighed and his shoulders slumped. 'Why doesn't anything good ever happen to me?'

"Why doesn't anything good ever happen to me?" A man with spiky blue hair called up to the sky as he walked along the street. "Oh come on Kotetsu, you're finally going back to your hometown! I for one would love to meet your relatives at this wedding!" Kotetsu threw a glance over at his best friend and partner in crime for eleven years, Izumo.

"That reminds me, why did you invite yourself along anyways?" Izumo smiled and chuckled lightly. "I thought the reason was obvious! To find that cute little blonde you always used to talk about." "What!" Izumo leaned closer to Kotetsu and grinned while Kotetsu leaned further away and sweatdropped.

"You know, the cute blonde kid you gave that ring to. When I first met you, you'd always talk about him and what a cute kid he was." Izumo clicked his tongue. "Tsk tsk, he was at least half your age at the time, what a pervert." Kotetsu's eyebrows began twitching. "I was ten Izumo, I assure you I wasn't attracted to him at the time." "That's what you say!" Kotetsu shook his head, a smile playing upon his lips. "Hey, let's go into here." He said pointing to a male's clothing store. "I still have to get a tie." Izumo rolled his eyes. "Procrastinator."

Naruto had dropped off his backpack at home and was now freely wondering the town, utterly bored and utterly broke, not a good combination. 'Damn it, I'm gonna have to find a job or something.' He miserably walked down the street, passing by the small stores that were scattered along the way when from the corner of his eyes he spotted- 'Nani!' Naruto whipped his head around, eyes peering into a shop window. 'I was so sure I saw- Forget it Naruto! You're just having delusions from thinking about the past to much. Besides, you can't barge into some shop looking for someone who's obviously not there!' But as he walked away he clutched the ring on his finger, hope swelling in his chest and his heart beating faster.

And that wasn't the only incident either. He had been in Math, looking out the window distractedly, when he swore to God he saw _him_ and someone else, of course they were at least fourteen meters away and it could have been someone else. 'But how many people could have that hairstyle?'

Then there was the time he had been job hunting and had finally found himself a successful 'gig'. He had been wandering around the 'base of operations' and again he saw that unmistakably unique hairstyle. 'Don't worry about it Naruto, you're only going insane, nothing to worry about.'

And then there was that time one girl in his class was ranting about her older sisters wedding and how great it was going to be, and who was doing flower arrangements and who was catering (Naruto was appalled to discover that his first time as a catering waiter would be at the wedding the girl was going on about.) and then she whipped out literally dozens of photographs, presumably of every family member she knew was coming.

"Oh, who's this?" "My cousin, Kotetsu." "Look at his hair!" "It's so cool!" "How does it stay like that?"

Naruto had to keep himself from moving around. The girl that was rambling on about the wedding had dark blue hair and black eyes, there couldn't be a relation, could there?

Either way, he knew that if there was someone from his class at this wedding, he was going to be made fun of, definitely at school, possibly at the wedding.

What he didn't expect was to be hit on a male with straight, chin length dark blue hair and black eyes.

There he had been, casually walking around the dark, huge backyard as he was told to do, walking around and admiring the sunset, stopping once in a while if someone flagged him over, when suddenly he found a presents behind him. Well, more like felt breath against his neck, but still…

"Hey cutie, how's it going?"

Izumo was bored and alone since Kotetsu had decided to abandon him for the time being. 'Hmp, what a great friend he is, won't even keep me company in a sea of strangers.' He was sulking near a fountain, silently pondering over what he should do to his friend as payback, when bright yellow hair caught his eye. His eyes wandered over the blonde, who seemed to really not want to be there and he grinned. 'Aw, don't worry baby, I'm gonna take you away to a magical place.' He strode forward, happy that the boy was facing away from him, he could make such a nice entrance…

He leaned down, making sure the boy knew he was there. "Hey cutie, how's it going?" Narrow blue eyes glared back at him and Izumo stifled a chuckle. 'Aw, you're so cute when you play hard to get.'

"Back away from me, or I can't promise I won't hurt you." Naruto ground out his eyes darkening, much like the sky.

"Aw, come on sweet heart, most guys would love to be hit on by a sexy man like me." Izumo struck a pose and Naruto sweatdropped. "Uhh… Sorry, but you're not exactly my type." "Oh, what is your type?" Izumo asked, leaning down so that he was face to face with the un-amused boy. "Well, he's about your age, and he kind of looks like you, but his hair is spikier, and he's a lot nicer too!" Naruto finished and turned around in a huff, walking further away from the house where more exclusive couples were whispering sweet nothings to each other and further still, not taking notice of the black clouds beginning to make their way over the already dark sky.

Izumo stood still, gawking at the retreating blonde. 'Oh my God, it's him! It _has_ to be him! I've got to find Kotetsu!'

The first few drops of rain began to fall, leaving girls scurrying for cover lest their make-up run and leaving men slowly walking up to the house, quickening their pace once the rain began falling faster.

As for Naruto, when the rain had begun to fall he was sure he'd be fine, it was only drizzling, so he marched on further away from the party, setting his tray on a stone bench and sitting beside it, it was as soon as he sat down that the rain began to pout and he inwardly cursed at his luck. He was going to be soaked long before he reached any form a shelter. 'Well, I might as well make a run for it.' He stood up and completely forgetting about his tray ran for the closest cover, a gazebo.

He bound up the steps and the hunched over, breathing heavily. 'God I need to start working out.' "Are you alright?" Naruto flinched slightly at the sound of another's voice, but didn't make any other movements. "I'm fine, just soaked." He replied as he grabbed the hem of his shirt and began to wring it out. 'His voice, it sounds somewhat… Familiar…'

"Yeah, it really started pouring. You should be careful, it's easy for kids to catch colds-" Naruto stood up and looked at the person, his mouth opening in shock, Kotetsu wasn't much better.

"You!" They said in unison before Naruto hurled himself into Kotetsu's arms. 'It did work, my wish did come true!'

"You came back." Naruto whispered into Kotetsu's chest before mentally slapping himself. 'Damn it Naruto, you're making it sound as though he's your long lost lover or something.'

Kotetsu couldn't help but wrap his arms around the boy, ten years later and the boy was still as cute as a button. 'But if I don't go inside soon, people are going to wonder where I am.' He looked down at the boy he was holding, snuggled against his chest wearing a black suit and… 'I can't believe he kept that ring for all these years, I'm sure most kids would have lost it within the first week.'

"Hey, we never were properly introduced. I'm Uzumaki Naruto." The boy whispered softly. "I'm Hagane Kotetsu."

They had promised to meet up in two days, right after Naruto got out of school Monday, and Kotetsu had been wringing his hair with worry about the whole situation, seeing the boy had brought back the crush he'd always had for the boy, and Izumo's grinning face definitely wasn't making anything better.

"Just what do you happen to find so hilarious about my current situation?" Kotetsu growled and Izumo sighed. "It's so cute! It's like puppy-love!" "Shut up, he's probably straight and has a girlfriend or something." "Nu-uh, I happen to know for a fact he's not straight and that he likes you." Kotetsu gave him a disbelieving stare at that point. "And how would you know this?" Izumo smiled sheepishly and replied. "Well, I sort of hit on him at the reception and he told me his type of guy, and I'm pretty sure that you match the description perfectly." Kotetsu blinked. 'Well, that certainly takes care of a couple of things, but where am I going to take him! The movies were too date-ish and Kotstdu didn't want to give him the right idea… Yet.

Thankfully Izumo was there, and being the lovable flirt that he was could cure any situation of this nature quite easily.

"Take him to the park you met, then wine and di-" "He's too young to drink you idiot." "I was speaking theoretically. Now anyways, just sit by a fountain or something and talk about life without each other." Izumo fluttered his eyelashes dramatically and Kotetsu frowned. "But that seems so simple." "Nonsense, you just don't know the inner working of the 'puppy-love' mind like I do." "If you say so…"

Apparently Izumo would always would be right when it concerned these types of matters, since Naruto seemed deeply touched that Kotetsu brought him to the place where they first met.

They had settled down on a bench and Kotetsu nervously stomped down on the urge to wrap an arm around the younger boy's shoulder. 'Not yet, can't do anything like that yet.'

"So Kotetsu, how long are you staying here for?" Naruto asked energetically, feet swinging beneath him. "Oh, for a couple more days I guess." Kotetsu replied. The feet stopped swinging and Naruto slouched against the bench. "Oh."

Kotetsu, trying to redeem Naruto's once good mood quickly answered. "But I'm sure I can stay longer than that. I'm already into my summer vacation, and I have no plans for the next several months. I can stay here with my grandparents for the summer and we could hang out all the time!" 'Gee, don't get to enthusiastic there bud.'

Naruto was trying to hide his smile by turning away. "You don't have to do that, a couple days is fine." Kotetsu moved closer, gripping Naruto's chin lightly and turning the boy to face him. "Oh, but I think I do have to stay. I have to make sure I give you the right signals and all." Naruto blinked in confusion. "Signals? What signals?" Kotetsu sighed and just decided to get it over with.

"During this summer I am planning on wooing you." "Woo?" "Yes, in other words, I am planning on making you my significant other." Naruto's eyebrows shot up. "Like a boyfriend?" Kotetsu nodded, eyes closed and in brooding mode. "Of course, it could take quite a while to properly woo you, but I'mm will to spend as much time as possible with you if it means that someday we could cultivate a suc-mruphh."

'OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod.' … At least outwardly Kotetsu remained calm and began kissing back.

Meanwhile, spying through a pair of binoculars Izumo clicked his tongue. "Honestly Kotetsu, you talk so much that the boy finally got some confidence and kissed you to shut you up. We're going to have to work on your form…" Izumo spied a tall, dark and handsome teenager to his left and grinned. "But we'll do that later, for now I must enjoy." He took a deep breath. "The hunt."

Naruto was the one who broke the kiss, blushing rather prettily at the thought of his rather oddly timed initiation.

"That wasn't a kiss to shut me up was it?" Kotetsu asked with a grin and Naruto shook his head fiercely. "Care to prove it?"

And of course, the only way to prove it was by kissing him again, and again, and again.

And once more, just to be sure that it was really a dream come true.


	19. DosuNaru

Warnings: AU, nothing else.

Pairing: Dosu/Naru, mentions of pervious Gaara/Naru

Summary: Naruto's been receiving letters with envelopes reading 'SWAK', he refuses to open them until Sakura tells him what it means, and then he's off to search for his 'lady love.'

Genre: Romance, humor

Rating: PG 13 'cause there might be swear words.

""-speech

''-thoughts

'Breathe in, breathe out, don't panic, stay calm, everything's okay. Pull in the good, push out the bad.' Naruto began his mantra as soon as he began opening his locker, slowly entering the combination and pulling the small metal door open with an eerie sounding squeak that made the blonde chuckle nervously.

There, lying hazardously upon a pile of textbooks was an envelope. It was a normal envelope, you know, white and rectangular with writing scrawled across the flap. From Naruto's vintage point he couldn't exactly make out the words, but he already knew what it said.

S.W.A.K

Naruto had been receiving these strange letters for a week now; this would be the fifth one, he didn't dare open them out of fear. He didn't know what this 'swak' stuff meant, but it was written in red ink! That must have been a sign that someone was out for his blood!

'Maybe SWAK stands for the first names of each person in some strange gang who wants to kill me.' Nevertheless, despite his extreme fear of the letter, he made sure to carefully place each one at the bottom of his locker after receiving it. He called it, _the preservation of evidence_, if he was killed someone would be sure to look in his locker and see the notes and arrest whoever had done the horrible deed, right?

"Hurry up Naruto! We'll be late for class!" He heard Sakura shout at him and Naruto nodded at her before carefully placing the envelope at the foot of his locker and running after her.

"Good morning class!" A matured woman with dark blue hair and who was, in Naruto's opinion, far too energetic this early in the morning, announced as she walked in the class. "Good morning Hikura-sensei." The students replied in unison, some as energetic as the teacher, and some like Naruto, not so much.

"Today we're going to be learning about a very diverse topic, euthanasia. Now, does anyone know what euthanasia is?" One hand shot up just like everyday and Naruto felt his mind drifting off to the precise, calculated sound of Sakura's voice.

Grade eleven English was definitely not his forte, nor was any other class mind you, but English was just so boring and he often found himself to be more easily distracted then normal when he was in the bright, sunny classroom. Sadly the only thing that seemed to be distracting him this week was his theory that someone was out for his blood.

'S… W… A… K… Sorry, We Always Kill? Sinning With Assassination Knives? Sally Wants Able-bodied Kaleidoscope? Sakon Wants A Korpse? No, corpse is with a C.' Hazy blue eyes glanced around the classroom, there seemed to be sort of discussion going on. 'Ah, I'm sure youth in Asia aren't that important, why are we learning about them?'

"BAKA!" "Whaaa! Sakura-chan is so mean to me!" "You're an idiot! We weren't talking about youth in Asia, we were talking about euthanasia!" Naruto blinked up at Sakura innocently. "There's a difference?"

Sakura was just about to wring Naruto neck when she heard a cough behind her; she turned, starry eyed to see _her_ Sasuke-kun glaring down at her.

"Leave him alone Sakura, Naruto's been distracted lately, or did you not notice that for the past week he's been afraid of is own shadow." Naruto sputtered for a minute. "TEME! I have not been afraid of my own shadow!" "Whatever you say, dobe." "Don't call me that!" "Naruto! Stop disrespecting Sasuke-kun!"

Five minutes and a couple of newly formed bruises later Naruto had been forced to sit down in front of Sasuke and Sakura, who seemed to enjoy towering over him as they stood in their 'demanding' poses.

"Naruto, tell us what's going on." Naruto shook his head, like hell he was! Sakura cracked her knuckles threateningly and Naruto blanched, some of his resolved fading away.

"Tell us Naruto, or else." The pink haired girl muttered dangerously as a small audience formed in a circle around the three friends.

'Wah, Sakura-chan is awfully scary when she's angry, maybe I should just tell her?' He glanced at Sakura's furrowed eyebrows and evil smile.

"Well Sakura-chan, I've been getting letters in my locker." Naruto looked away and blushed while Sakura impatiently said, "Go on…" "And-and I don't know what it means! But I'm sure someone is out to get me! It had S.W.A.K on the flap of each envelope!"

Sakura, Shikamaru, Hinata, Kiba, Chouji, Ino, Lee and Ten Ten all face vaulted while Neji, Sasuke and Shino's eyebrows began to twitch.

"Ano… Naruto, what do you think S.W.A.K means?" Sakura asked once she recovered sending a quick glance over Naruto's head to Hinata, mouthing 'was it you?' and Hinata blushed, shaking her head 'no.'

"Well, I haven't figured out what it meant yet, but I'm sure it's bad, right?" Sakura took a deep breath. "Naruto, S.W.A.K means: Sealed With A Kiss." Naruto sat there for a moment, allowing the information to sink into his brain.

"What?"

Everyone face vaulted this time.

Sakura, having explained it to him several times after that incident, two of those times being in their shared art class, Naruto finally let it sink in, properly.

"Yosh! I'll look over these strange love-type letters and find my lady love!" He had proclaimed loudly.

Right when their sensei was in the middle of an art history lecture.

But Naruto was quite content to spend the rest of the period in the hallway, it was so much nicer than trying to conceal his excitement. In the hallway he could jump around and practically no one could see him as opposed to a whole class full of people.

School couldn't have gotten out soon enough and Naruto rushed towards Sakura's last period class, and making sure that his most irresistible puppy dog eyes were in place he begged her to come over to his apartment to help him figure out who sent the letters. It wasn't too hard, seeing as she wanted to know who could possibly like Naruto, other than Hinata of course.

Of course, then she invited Sasuke, who Ino had to follow, and Shikamaru was dragged along by Ino, so Chouji came to, Hinata was pressured to come by both Sakura and Ino, so Neji decided to come along, which meant Lee and Ten Ten had to come…

So Naruto just decided to fuck it and ask Kiba and Shino to come along to.

They all sat in Naruto's living room, since they definitely couldn't have fit in his bedroom, and Naruto carefully pulled the five letters out of his backpack and flipped them over so that they'd be in order. He slowly began placed the other four down as he slowly began to rip the envelope open and then he slowly began taking the piece of paper out-

And then Sakura hit him over the head with a text book and tore the letter from his hands. "You're taking far too long! I'll read these letters and I'm sure with all of out brains put together we can find out who's been sending you these in no time!" She let out a small coughed before she began read the first letter.

"Dear Kawaii-Boy, you may or may not remember who I am and you may or may not know my name, but I am sure that you remember pranking a group of friends last week. Although I was and still am angered by your horrible sense of humor, I can't seem to get your laughing, happy face out of my mind. Please meet me on the school roof after school." Sakura's face scrunched up. "Well, that doesn't help much." "What do you mean by that Sakura-chan?" Naruto questioned and Sasuke sighed. "What she means is you prank someone almost everyday of their week and laugh in their faces." "That's not true, I didn't today!" Naruto glared angrily at Sasuke, who was defended by Sakura, who was threatened by Ino who then began a cat fight.

"Sasuke-kun is mine forehead-girl!" "As if Ino-Pig!"

Shikamaru lazily picked up the second letter. "The sooner we finish this the sooner Ino will let me go home." He supplied as an explanation to the group of people who were rather shocked to see him do something.

"Dear Kawaii-Boy, I suppose I can understand why you didn't come to the roof, my admitting that I was angry and all, but I will formally apologize today, so long as you do the same, and then maybe we can go out somewhere." Shikamaru snorted. "I can't believe that some upperclassman girl has a crush on you."

"UPPERCLASSMAN?" Ino and Sakura screeched in unison.

Shikamaru nodded and Neji decided to go into detail. "Hai, only grade twelve's are allowed access to the school roof." Then Hinata stuttered out. "A-And they have to be trustworthy students." "More than likely on honor roll." Shino added his two cents and both Sakura and Ino looked at Naruto in disbelief, both thinking the same thing. 'He managed to attract an intelligent, older woman?'

Shikamaru had reached for the next letter when an over enthusiastic Lee ripped it away from his grasp.

"Yosh! In the springtime of youth many flowers of love shall bloom!" Ten Ten sweatdropped beside him. "Lee, just read the letter."

"Hai! Dear Kawaii-Boy, I am afraid I have yet to know your name, but I am almost certain that I know who you are, there seem to be very few blonde grade elevens who pull such strange pranks. Please come to the roof after school tonight and tell me if you are Uzumaki Naruto."

Chouji rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. "Strange pranks? Most of Naruto's pranks are often considered cruel by the victim." "What? They do not!" Naruto protest, but quickly shut up when half the room's eyes glared at him with tremendous killing force. "He he, never mind about that, go on."

"I think what Chouji is trying to say, is that out of all the pranks you pulled last week, there was only one that could be considered weird." A small 'arf' was heard as Akamaru backed up his master and Naruto sweatdropped.

"Ano, which prank is that?" "The one where you pranked the wrong people." "… Oh yeah… I set up a device so that as soon as Sakon and Kidomaru left the library they'd be pelted with vanilla pudding. I wondered why nobody else was laughing until I realized I got the wrong people." Naruto directed a glare at Kiba. "Which is all your fault by the way, you were supposed to make sure that nobody but Sakon and Kidomaru went through that door." Kiba shrugged his shoulders. "Meh. I couldn't be helped." "Why you-"

"Dear Naruto, I am sure that your name is Naruto now, even if you didn't show up to tell me. I wonder if you believe I'm still mad at you? Don't worry, I'm over that now, although Kin was so mad that her hair was-" Ino stopped reading and dropped the letter before a sly grin crept onto her face.

"Oi Naruto, I think this admirer of yours is a _guy_." "WHAT!" Ino smirked triumphantly and waved the letter in front of Naruto's face. "The group you pummeled with pudding was the three grade twelve students: Tsuchi Kin, Kinuta Dosu, and Abumi Zaku. The writer of this letter says that they are no longer angry with you, but that Kin is."

It was dead silent until Sasuke started snickering, trying to mask it with a cough when Naruto threw an _I'm going to torture your prone body and laugh maniacally while you scream in pain if you keep that up_ glare.

"Well…" Kiba began thoughtfully. "At least we already know you have a thing for men." "W-Wh-What! I do not!" "Naruto, think back to grade nine, think back to Gaara." "We were just friends!" Kiba muttered something that sounded suspiciously like: Friends who make out in the change room, but Naruto thought it would be better if he didn't make Kiba repeat himself and decided to sulk in a corner next to Shino.

Hinata, trying desperately to ease the tension picked up the fifth letter. "A-Ano, should I, umm, read this one?" Ino and Sakura giggled madly and nodded. "O-Okay."

"Dear Naruto, why don't you ever respond to my letters? I don't know whether to be depressed or angry at your lack of response. If you do not meet me at the roof after school tonight, I will pursue you in and out of school not stopping until you are mine." Hinata blushed and Shikamaru snorted.

"Good luck Naruto, you're going to need it."

The next Monday Naruto definitely didn't feel too good about coming to school, especially since all the others did to 'help' him on Friday was make fun of him, tell him he would look so _cute_ being dominated by some _guy _and they kept bringing up Gaara! Why the hell didn't they get it! He wasn't gay! He wasn't Bi! Gaara was just a very special case! (And a great kisser!)

At least Ino and Sakura had the decency to help him out a bit; they were both well renound on gossip and said the both Zaku and Dosu were pretty smart.

Then Neji, who had apparently taken pity on him, told Naruto that he knew Dosu was an honor roll student, therefore it was very likely that he was the secret-admirer-type-person, when Ten Ten protested that she'd seen Dosu give the key-card to the roof to his friends before.

So really he didn't know which one was sending him these letters, but it would stop today! He was sure of it! After all, whoever was sending them was clearly displeased that he hadn't responded to them (It wasn't his fault! He'd never gotten a love letter before!) and as such, would stop sending them.

Or at least that's what Neji said, and Naruto was sure Neji wouldn't lie to him.

'Alright, today I'm going to confront both of those guys and tell them to stop obsessing over me! It's freakyyyyy!' Naruto whined to himself as he opened his locked, feeling immense relief when he saw no letter.

He went through English and Math without any problems, well, more problems than normal anyways. And then came his favorite period. Lunch. Yummy!

He had looked all over the cafeteria for a group of three people he 'slightly' remembered the face of, although he figured it would be easier to look for Dosu. He face was covered in bandages after all. (The freak.)

He had wondered to the outdoor eating area, (Which was really just a lawn with a bunch of large trees people liked to eat under.) straining his eyes in search of the white bandages of aforementioned 'freak' when his foot caught on something and he tripped.

"Ha, you deserve to eat dirt for what you did to my hair, little creep!"

That voice, that slightly familiar voice, screeching at him, although it was in anger last time. Naruto slowly turned his head, still lying on the ground and his eyes widened when he saw the group in front of him.

'I was looking… In the wrong direction.'

The boy with spikey, dark blue hair cracked his knuckles and smirked. "Yeah, I think that I can avenge all of us, it shouldn't be too hard, he's kind of scrawny." He moved to get up but a hand covered by super-long sleeves stopped him.

"Don't waste your time Zaku, put your energy into studying." Naruto's eyes followed up the long sleeve, to find where the deep, male voice had come from. Kinuta Dosu, age eighteen, complete with bandages that covered most of his face and a shirt that had sleeves that fell several inches past his finger tips.

"Uhh…" Naruto wasn't quiet sure what to say, he had really expected to trip, presumably on Kin's outstretched foot, right in front of whoever his letter sender was.

"Well, I guess I should apologize to you guys… But you weren't the ones I was supposed to get! It was supposed to be Sakon and Kidomaru!" Naruto finished with a yell and blushed. 'Well, that wasn't much of an apology.' He lifted himself off of the ground and let himself fall into a very formal bow.

"Gomen nasai senpai." He looked up through his bangs at the three older students, Kin was scrutinizing her nails, Zaku was smirking down at him and Dosu gazed at him.

Naruto figured it would have been a lot easier for him to gauge Dosu's reaction if he could make out his facial expression, but as it was Naruto was pretty sure he knew who was his letter sender.

Unless Zaku was into strange BDSM stuff and got off at the idea of hurting the people he liked. Naruto shuddered at the very thought.

'Oh God, but, if Zaku is like that- and he is my- then that would mean-' Images of being chained up in a basement, handcuffed to a bed and being tortured by a leather clad Zaku flashed through his head and he shuddered even more.

'Oh God, please no, not him, not him!'

Art class passed without any hitches and soon enough Woodshop was over and done with and Naruto rushed happily to his locker, today was Monday, therefore pork-ramen day! He happily spun his locker combination and opened his bag to drop off his books, when a familiar looking envelope caught his eye.

'Whaaaaat? I thought that he wasn't going to send me notes anymore!' Naruto thought with a small blush as he snatched the letter and opened it.

'Dear Naruto, I hope you realize that I didn't mean what I said at lunch, and I really hope that you'll come and meet me on the school roof after class.' Naruto frowned. 'It could mean that Zaku didn't mean that he'd beat me up, or that Dosu didn't mean I wasn't worth Zaku's time.' Naruto ran a hand through his hair and sighed. 'Damn it, none of the clues I get really help me at all. I'm going to have to go up there today, even if it's only to sneak a peak at who's got a crush on me.'

Naruto slowly made his way up deserted, dark stairwells and all too soon found himself in front of the door that would take him to the roof. He turned the knob and pushed, wincing at the squeaking sound it made as it swung open, he had wanted to have the element of surprise on his side.

He took a step outside and looked around, noticing that no one was there.

"Geez, maybe this is just some sort of joke, or maybe he's trying to get back at me for all those times I didn't come up here." 'But that wasn't my fault! I didn't know!'

"OI! WHOEVER YOU ARE, IF YOU DON'T SHOW YOURSELF NOW I'M LEAVING AND NEVER COMING BACK!"

"Yare, yare, you don't have to yell so loud; I can hear you perfectly fine." Naruto looked up and there, sitting on top of the enclosed staircase was Dosu, his feet dangling over the open door.

"S-So you're th-" "Naruto." Dosu leapt down from his elevated position and stood, towering over Naruto with his superior height. "Y-Yes?" "In accordance to your formal apology, I would also like to apologize for holding anger against you." Naruto sweatdropped. 'Is that all he wants to do, apologize?' Naruto couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, he was a teenaged boy after all, who could _possibly_ make an exception for the guy who'd kept Zaku from hurting him.

"So, uhh, now that we've both apologized, can I leave now?" "But we've only just begun." Dosu answered as he dropped down from is perch above Naruto.

"Naruto…" The blonde took a small step back. "Yes?" "Would you like to go get some coffee some time?" Naruto blinked. "Uh… I don't drink coffee, it stunts your growth you know, and I'm short enough as it is." "I see." Dosu nodded and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, as if he was making sure he'd remember that.

"How about going to a movie?" "Well, umm, I'm flattered but, I really think it's best if you turned your attention to someone else." Naruto said as he ran past the other boy and down the stairs as quickly as he could.

'My heart's beating really fast, is it just because I'm running, or is it… No! I promised myself that I'd never get with a guy again, Gaara was a special case, that's why I was with him. What makes Dosu special, other than all the bandages?'

Meanwhile, Dosu's eyes had narrowed as he stared at the spot the blonde had once been. 'This isn't over Naruto, I'll win your heart yet!'

It came as a surprise to Naruto, who thought that he had gotten rid of Dosu's affections, that when the next day rolled around and he opened his locker, a wave of love letters came gushing out, each one with S.W.A.K written in red ink on the flap in elegant handwriting.

'Oh. My. God.'

And then on Wednesday instead of love letters he found a heart shaped box of chocolates and a red rose.

'What. The. Fuck. He knows my locker combination? Who the hell told him to get me chocolate!'

And then on Thursday there was nothing in his locker, and Naruto sighed in relief thinking that the other boy had given up, but once he made it to his first period class… Well…

"NANIIIIIIIIIII?"

His desk looked like someone had decided to grow ever rose imaginable on it surface, it was horrible!

'Who the hell is he getting his advice from, I don't like flowers! I don't like chocolate! I AM NOT going to read through all of those damned love letters!' He angrily stomped over to his desk and scooped the roses into his arms, dropping them on the desk behind him. Sasuke was used to receiving tokens of affection, he wouldn't make a big deal out of it, the fangirls would, but watching them fight was fun.

He spent the rest of the day being aggravated, even more so when he tried to find Dosu at lunch and the guy just couldn't be found! He had to tell Dosu that if he wanted to win his heart or whatever, he had to stop giving him girly things!

'I bet Kin's telling him what to get, she probably thinks he's got a crush on a girl and is telling him all this junk about _flowers _and what flowers _mean_ and how they're so _great_.' He clenched his fist. 'Next thing you know he's going to appear under my bedroom window and start serenading me with music.' He shuddered as he walked home, that would be _far_ too embarrassing.

Ahhh, Friday, one more day of Dosu's antics before he got two days away from him and then the process repeated itself.

'Hopefully I'll be able to find him today and tell him to cut it out with the girly things.' He thought as he completely avoided going to his locker and made it straight to first period, heaving a sigh of relief when there was nothing on his desk. 'Maybe he gave up.'

When he made it to lunch without any strange incidents Naruto went looking for Dosu again, searching high and low and-

"THE ROOF!" Heedless of the various students who slowly back away from him Naruto ran as fast as he could up the stairs that would take him to the roof.

'Please be here…' He thought as he wrenched open the door, immediately looking up.

"YOU!"

Dosu blinked and looked down. "Me?" "Yes you, where the hell have you been!" Naruto asked angrily and Dosu smirked, not that you could tell but…

"I told you in every letter I sent you on Monday, just incase you only red one, that I was going to be on the roof every lunch incase you wanted to talk to me."

"Oh…" 'Damn…'

"Now then Naruto, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Suddenly all of Naruto anger at the girly things he'd been receiving was brought forth and he angrily started pacing.

"What is with the flowers! I hate flowers! And I don't like chocolate either and I don't want to read any of these love letters! Honestly, I would think that you'd have tried to find a little more information on me and then found out that I really like ramen! I'd let you take me out for ramen! Ramen is the best thing that was ever invented! But noooo, you have to give me flowers and chocolate like I'm some sort of air headed girl! Why not ramen! Why! Not! Ramen! I love ram-" "Naruto?"

Naruto turned around and glared at the older boy who was now standing behind him awkwardly.

"Do you want to go out for ramen then?"

Instantly Naruto's eyes widened and sparkled happily, Dosu sweatdropped. "Yes, I'd love to go out for ramen with you!" He glomped onto Dosu arm as the older boy thought: 'I can't believe this was that easy.' As he lead the other boy down the stairs.

Naruto had a good feeling about this, a very good feeling, after all, all good relationships must have ramen somewhere in it! 'But Gaara didn't like ramen, silly Gaara, now I have Dosu to eat ramen with… I wonder if he's a good kisser to.'


	20. ZakuNaru

Warnings: AU, nothing else.

Pairing: Zaku/Naru

Summary: A school play, a great way to make new friends, or get extra credit, sadly when Naruto was forced to join he didn't know that the shortage of females would cause him to be the female lead with an annoying male lead bugging him every practice.

Genre: Drama (?), Romance

Rating: PG 13

""-speech

''-thoughts

Naruto knew he was lazy, he knew he was a procrastinator and he knew that despite his 'best efforts' he'd never, ever pass a course with over seventy percent. He knew that most students were beginning to buckle down now, it was almost the end of the year after all, but Naruto found himself not caring at all. Too bad his English teacher was actually concerned over his marks, or else he'd have never gotten into the horrible mess that he was in.

English in the morning was such a horrible thing, hell, the teacher was late everyday, so Naruto was sure that he couldn't point fingers at him for not handing one or two assignments in.

Alright, so maybe it was more like a dozen assignments, but he did this with every class and he wasn't outright failing… Yet.

"Oi Naruto, you have a forty five in this class…" Kakashi lazily began as he flipped through a couple of papers and Naruto frowned and glared at his teacher. 'So? I just need to study hard for the exam!'

"I don't know if you depend of passing your exams to pass for every one of your classes, but I'm not going to stand for this." Kakashi stood up and walked around his desk, grinning.

Naruto held back his shiver of fear. "So what exactly do you plan to have me do?" "An extra credit assignment, I'm sure you'll like it." Naruto seriously doubted that. "And what exactly am I going to be doing?"

"You were in Iruka-sensei's drama class last year, weren't you?" Naruto blanched. "What does that have to do with anything?" Kakashi's grinned widened. "I'm proposing that you take part in a play that Iruka has created to be performed at the end of the school year. Or I won't let you write the exam." "B-But that's only two weeks away!" "Well then, I guess you'll just have to work really hard. Now go to the drama room, I already told Iruka you'd be there after school."

That man was far too confident that he'd go along with this, _far too confident_. Too bad he had to do this, there was a certain air of finality in Kakashi's voice when he said that if he didn't participate in this play he couldn't write the exam. He was not going to summer school dammit! That was finial!

So he begrudgingly made his was to the drama room and slowly entered as quietly as possible, tip toeing past a pile of backpacks and shoes and-

"NARUTO!" "AH!" Naruto twisted around and looked up at Iruka with wide eyes. 'Scary, scary man…'

"Oh Naruto, I'm so glad you agreed to help me with this!" 'Agreed?' "I managed to force most of my class to take part in this-" 'Forced?' "and then I let other students sign up for it, but hardly any did and I still needed one of my main characters." Iruka looked up at the stage, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears and Naruto sweat dropped. "But from the moment when this play began forming in my mind I new that you were the right person to play this part. The stubborn but gentle, the loud but subdued, the obnoxious but sweet-" 'I'm not gentle, subdued or sweet.' "heroin of the play, Scarlet Mayflower!" "….. What?" "You're going to be playing a girl." "WHAT!" Naruto backed away from his teacher, his cheeks red with embarrassment.

"I'm not playing a girl!" "B-But Kakashi-sensei said you would." "Well he lied!" "Please Naruto? Pleeeaasseee." Naruto back away from the teacher more and into a male chest.

"Oi Iruka-sensei, what do you need this untalented kid for?" Naruto spun around. "Untalented! I'll have you know that last year I got a ninety eight percent in Iruka-sensei's grade nine drama class!" He screamed at the older boy, his eyes narrowing at the other's boy's smirk. "Then prove it." "Fine! I will!" Naruto turned and stomped away angrily.

"Does this mean you'll be Scarlet!" Naruto turned to Iruka, vaguely went over his argument with the other boy and inwardly cursed. 'Shit.'

First he was given a script to memorize over the weekend, a thirty page script over one weekend! And then Iruka had asked a girl to take his 'measurements' in order to make his costume.

A red dress, and his name was scarlet, how _surprising_.

When he finally made it home that night he felt abut ready to scream and cursed Kakashi to the seven hells and back for making him do this. 'What does this have to do with my English mark anyways! He just wants to get on Iruka-sensei's good side, the pervert.'

He went over the script, happily noticing that although 'Scarlet' was in almost every scene, she didn't actually start talking till about halfway through.

'She vowed to her father that she would not speak to any mere person, only to people of good blood? What the hell, how is this supposed to be like me?'

He finished flipping through it with a sigh. 'So the gist of the play is girl thinks everyone is below her, girl hears about guy, girl thinks guy is arrogant bastard, which he is, guy hears about girl, guy thinks girl is snobby, which she is, guy and girl meet and don't know that they are each other, when the finally figure it out they don't care and 'true love conquers all.'' Naruto frowned. 'Iruka-sensei is like a woman at heart, or maybe he's just girly…'

It was easy for him to memories the lines, even if it was by himself, but there were two things bothering him.

Number one. This play involved dancing, _Scarlet_ dancing and although Naruto didn't want to admit it, not only did he not know how to dance, he wasn't exactly the most graceful person on the planet.

Number two. There was a kiss scene at the end, now, Naruto wouldn't have minded it so much if Iruka had cast a female as the male lead, but judging by the looks he got when he had to sit around the drama room for twenty minutes while Iruka got him a script, it was a guy.

He didn't want to be kissed by a guy dammit! He didn't want to dance with a guy! He also didn't want to be dressed as a woman, although dancing and being kissed were a lot more important to him than being in a dress.

But if his mark ridded on this then damn, he was gonna do it. Kakashi must have known his complete and utter hatred of summer school, sneaky bastard.

He managed to memorize the script entirely and managed to use his English class to make sure he could go through all his lines in his mind. Kakashi didn't seemed to care, he just grinned.

'Stupid Kakashi-sensei, making fun of me cause I'm gonna be a girl.'

But despite his memorization he knew that with only ten school days, nine since the last day was there performance, and with only one hour after school for rehearsals… 'This is going to be tough, but at least the other students have already begun to rehearse, we might be able to make it.' Naruto leant back in his chair, chewing on the end of his pen. 'But the costumes and props, those will definitely take up time to make, and if they cut into rehearsal time-'

Whoosh. Smack.

"Owwww."

Naruto wearily made it too the drama room, happy to notice that he wasn't the last one to come in as he made his way strait to Iruka's desk.

"Iruka-sensei, mission of memorizing the script is complete." Iruka looked up from his paperwork with a smile. "Marvelous! Now you can start being trained to dance!" "ohh, is it with a kawaii girl?" Naruto asked hopefully and Iruka shook his head. "No. It's with you're the male lead, Abumi Zaku." Naruto's shoulders slumped. 'Aw, I have to learn how to dance with a guy? Not fair.'

"Yo Iruka-sensei, your dance teacher is here." Naruto stiffened his heart beat in his chest like a fluttering bird. 'It can't be… I won't be…' He turned around slowly. 'It is!' The boy from Friday was standing behind him, a superior smirk on his face. 'No fucking way!'

Zaku held out his hand and bowed. "Would you like to dance, _my lady_?"

'I must not hit him. I must not hit him. We need him for the play. We need him for the play.' Naruto took hold of the other boy's hand reluctantly and let out a squeak when he was pulled close to the other boy's chest.

"Relax little lady, it's hard to dance when the partners are so far away from each other." 'He called me little lady… The bastard!'

Naruto frowned up at him, eye glaring daggers. 'The fast I learn how to dance, the less time I have to dance with him! YOSH! I will do my best!'

His best definitely wasn't good enough.

"… You stepped on my foot again." "Didn't I apologize in advance for this kind of stuff?" "You really lack grace, we're going to be going at this for the rest of the week." "Whaaaaattt?"

'The rest of the week? I can't be that bad? Can I?' "B-But then we'll only have a week to rehearse." Naruto argued, trying to keep the timing in his head synchronized with the movement of his feet. 'One, two, three, one, two, three…'

"That's no problem, I already memorized my lines, and so did you. One week is enough to get all the blocking and movement we'll need to do, organized." 'You sure are confident about that aren't you? If this thing fucks up I'm blaming it all on you!'

The first couple of days went by slowly, Naruto slowly became accustomed to dancing while the other actors of the play collected and made props and costumes. On Thursday Naruto happily noticed that he had made no mistakes while dancing. Of course, then Zaku had to ruin it by going. "I can't believe it, my feet are still intact."

Naruto had come to Friday's rehearsal actually looking forward to it, acting was better than dancing, but as soon as he entered the room he was confronted by the girl who had taken his measurements the weeks before.

"Naruto-kun, you're dress is ready!" She said happily as she held it up by the shoulders and Naruto gawked at it. "Y-You made this?" He asked as he walked towards it and the girl nodded happily.

The top and sleeves of the dress were a light red, but around the midsection the fabric became darker until it reached the floor in a blood red pool of lace. The sleeves were long and bell shaped and around the bodice were small black beads making undistinguishable designs.

'I may have to wear a dress, but it's an awesome looking dress.' "It's breathtaking!" The girl smiled happily. "I'm glad you think so! You're going to be wearing it this whole period while we make sure you can still dance properly in it." "… What?" "It'll be harder for you to dance in a dress!" "But it took me four days to learn without one!" Naruto complained and the girl looked about to say something else, but she suddenly stopped, then Naruto felt a strong hand grip his shoulder.

"Have no fear my dear lady, all you have to do is get used to the skirt swirling around your legs and not trip on the hem, it should be too hard, even for an ungraceful person like you."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched slightly. 'I'll show you ungraceful! By the time we're done with this I'm going to be the best dancer in this whole school!' He grabbed the dress from the girl's hands and went to change. 'It won't be too hard, it's only a dress.'

Five Minutes Later.

'Damn you zipper! Why won't you do up!' He couldn't reach it anymore, he had started pulling it up and then it landed in an awkward place where he couldn't reach it with either hand, and trying to grab hold of it was quickly pissing him off. 'Aw hell, I'll get someone else to help me with it.' He slammed the changing room door open and stomped out, freezing when he heard a low whistle. 'Don't be him… Don't be him…'

"Whoever thought that my little lady would look so good in a gown?" "Grrr. I am not a lady, nor am I yours, leave me alone!" He began stomping away, Zaku followed.

"Wait, don't you need someone to do that zipper up for you?" "Yeah, anyone but you!" Naruto replied with a huff.

"Aw, don't be that way, I may be a bit cruel…" Naruto could suddenly feel Zaku's breath on his neck and his hands on his back. "But I'm not one to harm a lady in need." He slowly pulled the zipper up and turned Naruto, who was fuming at the lady comment, around to face him.

"Aw, what's that face for Naruto? Shouldn't you be happy to see me, your true love?" He took Naruto's hand in his and lead the other boy to the middle of the room.

'I will not kill him, I will not kill him, Iwillnotkillhim!'

Now then, the easiest way for you to not trip over your hem is by holding up your dress in one hand, do you want to try it that way, or do you think you can do this without falling on your face?" Naruto glared at him. 'Dammit, I just know I'll trip if I don't lift up these skirts, so for now…' He carefully grabbed some cloth into his left hand and grabbed onto Zaku's left hand. 'I'll just have to do what he suggested.'

They had managed to waltz around the room for several minutes before Iruka had said that it was good enough. Naruto felt rather proud of himself, being able to dance in a skirt was something he never thought he'd be able to accomplish before. Not that he really thought about it.

"Ano sa, ano sa Iruka-sensei, what do we do now?" Naruto asked, jumping from excitement as Iruka thought for a moment.

"Well, right now everyone is finishing up the props and costumes, the group rehearsals start Monday, and since both you and Zaku don't really have anything to do you can rehearse you're scenes together!" Naruto tilted his head to the side. "Nani?" "Go on, go on, I want my beautiful scenes of you two together to be brimming with your love for each other."

"I'm sure we can manage that, Iruka-sensei." Naruto turned and glared at Zaku. 'How the hell am I supposed to act as though I'm in love with this guy? He's so annoying!'

"Come on Naruto, let's practice somewhere private." Zaku grabbed the younger boy's hand and Naruto made soft sounds of protest, but in the end he was dragged out of the drama room and into the empty hallway.

"Alright, I get it! You can let go of my hand now." Naruto said as he yanked his hand away from Zaku's loosened grip. "Which scene did you want to rehearse anyways?" Zaku's dark eye glinted.

"The final scene." "W-What, but that one has-" "The kiss." Naruto blushed as he felt rather than saw Zaku's eyes travel over his small body.

"You look really pretty in that Naruto, prettier than a lot of girls I know." "Th-Thank you." Naruto shifted uncomfortably, his eyes glued to the ground. 'Why do I feel so nervous, I should insult him or something, yeah, insult.' "Hey Za-" The other boy's face seemed _unnaturally_ close to his. 'When did he get so close?' "Yes Naruto?" "What are you doing?" Was it just his imagination or was Zaku getting closer? "You'll see."

Rough lips pressed against his and Naruto's eyes widened. 'Why is he kissing me? I thought he didn't like me?' Zaku pressed his toungae against the seem of Naruto's lips and Naruto unfroze, stepping back and slapping the other boy across the face.

"What the hell are you doing? Stay away from me!" Naruto rushed into the drama room and changed, making sure to tell Iruka-sensei that he had something to do before he snuck out into the hallway. 'Zaku's gone, good, why the hell did he have to do that. He took away my first kiss. Bastard.' Naruto blushed and began running. 'I can't believe he kissed me! If he likes me like that, why is he so mean?'

The weekend was filled studying for exams and doing ISU's and the weekdays were filled with school and then rehearsals. He would often find Zaku trying to catch his eye and mouthing 'can we talk' to him, but Naruto would turn his head and refuse to answer. He was stubborn, and he liked it like that... But… Even so, it was kind of hard to stay mad at Zaku just for kissing him…

Their practices were going perfectly, even Naruto had to admit that Zaku was a good actor, but even though they would work and re-work all the scenes, there was always one that they seemed to skip. The absolutely last scene, it wasn't much, just a few sentences for each of them and then a little kiss, but when the end of Thursday's practice rolled around Iruka was practically having a heart attack, and who was left to calm him down, Naruto.

"It's okay Iruka-sensei, we'll just improvise it! It'll be fine." Naruto said in his most calming tone of voice but Iruka was still practically weeping at his desk.

"No, improvisation won't work! That scene is meant to tie the whole play together, they know who each other are, but they no longer care what they first thought about them because they know they love each other, and then the kiss! It can't be a mere pressing together of lips! I has to provide emotional impact so that the audience goes 'wow, they love each other, this is a great play'! And to top things off that blonde wig we got for you always falls an-" "Iruka-sensei, calm down. I can make sure the wig stay on my head by fastening it there with some bobby pins and don't worry about the final scene; me and Zaku are your best drama students ever right? We can do it!" Naruto said it with complete confidence, but inwardly he was screaming.

The next day, the last day of school, at least a fourth of the student population had come out to see the performance and so far it was going smoothly, Naruto didn't trip on his dress while dancing, no one screwed up their lines, no one seemed to noting that Scarlet was actually Naruto, it was all good, until all at once they were at the final scene.

'Man, I feel really nervous about this, we definitely should have practiced in class.'

"Scarlet, you got my letter." Naruto moved towards Zaku. "Yes, but, I don't know what to do anymore, I, I always thought that you were-" "It doesn't matter anymore, what we thought of each other before we knew that you were Scarlet and I was Vincent." Zaku pulled Naruto to his chest and hugged him, and Naruto sank into the embrace. 'This is kind of nice.'

"But Vincent, if I had known it was you at first, I would have never fallen for your charms." "It's the same with me I'm afraid, but we can't take back our words now. I still love you Scarlet." Zaku took a step back to look Naruto straight in the eyes. "Do you love me too?" Naruto stepped forward, wrapped his arms around Zaku's neck and whispered. "Yes." And then they brought their lips together for a sweet kiss.

And then the lights went out and the crowd, which seemed to be made of mostly female students, began cheering.

The cast came back on stage and bowed twice, the cheering escalated, but now there was an occasional yell of. "KISS! KISS!" And soon all the girls were screaming it.

Zaku looked at Naruto with questioning eyes, he really didn't want to be slapped again, but Naruto nodded his consent and with a grin Zaku grabbed hold of Naruto and dipped him low to the ground, giving him a slow, meaningful kiss.

"I seem to have swept you off your feet, pretty lady."

Naruto didn't deny it.


	21. EbisuNaru

Warnings: Other then the age difference, there's nothing bad about this fic.

Pairing: Ebisu/Naru

Summary: When there's a knock on his door in the middle of the night Ebisu didn't know who he'd find on the other side, but a frightened blonde jumping into his house was not what he was expecting.

Genre: Romance, a bit of humor

Rating: PG 13

""-speech

''-thoughts

It was a clam, still autumn night and Ebisu deeply inhaled the fresh air that was coming in through his open bedroom window. It had been a hectic day for him, Konohamaru had so much that he needed to be taught and the child seemed to be getting brattier by the day!

Ebisu sighed and removed his sunglasses while massaging his temple. Just thinking about tomorrow's lesson was enough to give him a headache. 'The more time he spends with that trouble making brat, the more he becomes like the trouble making brat. One day this village may be cursed with another Naruto.' He shuddered at the thought before readying himself for bed.

Truth be told though, Ebisu had to admit that Naruto had earned some respect from him, even if it was only a little. But damn it! His pranks were still irritating! And he was still a bad influence on Konohamaru!

It was mere minutes after he had slipped between the sheets that he became aware of distant sounds of shouting. 'What the hell?' He slowly rose from his bed and stood up, planning to find out what the whole fuss was about, when he heard loud, rapid knocking on his door. 'I'm coming, I'm coming…' He made his way towards the front door and swung it open, not expecting an armful of person to leap onto him, causing him to fall back on the floor.

Naruto kicked the door shut and sighed happily on his perch, before looking down to check if the person he'd fell on was alright.

"Ah! Closet Pervert!" The blonde quickly jumped off of Ebisu and darted into a corner of the room.

Ebisu, who still felt slightly dazed from the fall, only managed to glare at the ignorant child for the time being.

The noises were getting a bit louder, and by the sounds of it they were barging into every household, trying to find Naruto.

"Just what exactly did you do to make a mob of people chase after you like this?" Ebisu asked dryly and Naruto, seemingly ignoring the question, quickly jumped straight into begging-mode.

"Please don't tell them that I'm here, onegai." Naruto fluttered his eyelashes and Ebisu felt his eyebrow twitch. Realising that he was getting nowhere with this Naruto quickly form a hand seal. "Henge!" A small burst of smoke filled the room and Ebisu waved it away, annoyed. "Just what do you think you are doi-"

"_Ebisu-sama._" 'Oh damn.' Ebisu looked on in morbid fascination as the most beautiful, voluptuous, cutest, sweetest looking girl appeared, still covered in smoke.

Smoke that was starting to disappear.

Well, he had managed not to have a nose bleed at the mere sight of her, which in itself was an accomplishment. Or maybe he didn't have a nose bleed because he was trying to distract himself by listening to the really close sounds of a mob.

"_Ebisu-sama, please don't look away from me._" Oh God, she was holding onto him, pressing her soft young figure against his firm body. "_Ebisu-sama, I want you-_"

He could hold it in no longer! Blood came sprouting from his nose and he sailed backwards, crashing into the wall.

The female just blinked. "-to hide me." The roar of the mob seemed just outside and Naruto shivered. 'They're right next door! What do I do?' Thankfully Ebisu emitted a low groan at this point and Naruto quickly remembered his plan.

Blonde pigtails fluttering behind 'her' Naruto walked over and knelt down beside Ebisu, only feeling slightly disturbed by what 'she' was about to do. "_Ebisu-sama, don't let them take me away, onegai?_" She fluttered her eyelashes and was pleased to see it had more of an effect when she was a girl. "_Please Ebisu-sama? I'll give you a kiss._" And true to her word she leant down a placed a small, chaste kiss on Ebisu's lips.

"EBISU-SAN! PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR!" Ebisu snapped out of the dreamlike state he had wafted into and frowned, quickly getting up and striding towards the door as Naruto huddled in the corner, changing back into his original form as he watch Ebisu with unsure eyes.

Ebusi opened the door slowly, his glare fixing the person on the other side to his spot. "And what, pray tell, are you doing knocking on my door in the middle of the night?" He asked with a dangerous edge to his voice.

"W-Well Ebisu-san, we were j-just wondering… You see we're looking for the Kyuubi brat and-" "And you think I'd let that brat stow away in my apartment." Ebisu questioned, the dangerous edge in his voice growing. The other ninja before him shook his head furiously. "N-no sir! We'd never think that sir!" "we'll then, I suggest you put this whole, angry mob thing to an end, it's late, I'm sure that you've disturbed enough people for one night." "B-But-" "Go home." Ebisu hissed out, eyes darting to the crowd in front of him. "All of you, just _go home_."

The crown muttered amongst themselves a bit, but eventually dispersed and Ebisu smirked in satisfaction as he closed his door, dark eyes glancing over to Naruto, who seemed a bit shocked.

"What?" "Nothing! It's just… You must have a lot of respect if you can do stuff like that." Naruto answered shyly and Ebisu scoffed. "Flattery, my dear boy, will get you nowhere. Now then, care to tell me why a mob of angry villagers were chasing after you. I really don't want to find out that I've just protected someone who's just killed someone's dog or something." "No! It wasn't anything like that!" Naruto proclaimed and Ebisu made his way to the other side of the room, gracefully flopping onto the couch.

Silence reigned over them for a few minutes before Ebisu, sick with the silence turned to face the boy, who was still sitting in the corner.

"Look Uzumaki, just tell what's going on, for my peace of mind at least." "Fine fine!" Naruto rose up from his place in the corner and began pacing.

"I was at the park, right, and there was this kid sitting on a swing and looking really depressed. So I went u to him and asked if he wanted to be pushed, he said yeah and so I started pushing him on the swing. I guess he knew that everyone hates me or something, because after a dozen or so pushes he jumped off of the swing and landed face first on the ground. Then he started screaming about how I was trying to kill him!" Naruto huffed and crossed his arms, still pacing fretfully across the room.

"I tried to tell him that he jumped off of the swing, but the kid's mother just went berserk on me and so I started running. I would have gone to Iruka's, but he wasn't there and all the door and windows were locked. And I couldn't go to my own apartment because they'd have it surrounded." He stopped pacing in front of Ebisu and frowned. "Is that enough of an explanation for you?"

"That doesn't explain why you barged into a stranger's house. What if I was the father of the child?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head and chucked. "Well, you see, I though that this was Sakura-chan's apartment. I guess I'm on the wrong street." Ebisu let out a sigh and rubbed at his temples, although there was a small smile spreading across his lips.

"Anyways, thanks for vouching for me Closet Pervert." Ebisu's eyebrow twitched and the smile disappeared. "But I should probably get back to my own place." Naruto turned to leave, but was stopped short as Ebisu's hand clamped down on his wrist.

"Oi! Just what do you think you're doing Closet Pervert?" Ebisu pulled the boy away from the door and pushed him down on the couch.

"Do you really think that it's safe for you to go out there already? I highly doubt it." "But those people all went away when you told them to!" "It may seem like that, but they could just as well be hiding around somewhere, waiting for you to come out of hiding. I seriously doubt that most of those people would give up in their search for you that easily." Naruto blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Ebisu made a move to adjust his sunglasses, before realizing that he had taken them off before he went to bed. So instead he sighed and sat down beside the boy.

"What I mean is I know most of the ninjas that were after you, and all of the ones I know had a beloved family member killed by Kyuubi. They're probably using that child's grievance as an excuse to hunt you down and get rid of you." He noticed the boy beside him seem to deflate, his eyes turn dark with sadness, glittering with unshed tears and Ebisu felt pity stab at his heart.

"Alright then Uzumaki, you can stay here for the night and in the morning I'll escort you to your apartment, but you have to promise to lie low until this thing blows over, alright?" Naruto looked up at him with wide eyes, a grin stretching over his face. "Really?" "Really." "Thank you Ebisu!" The boy called out as he glomped onto the older man, who was beginning to feel quite uncomfortable with the boys arms folded around him in a strange sort of embrace.

"Alright alright, that's enough of that." Ebisu managed to get out as he pried the boy off of him, feeling his cheeks grow warm. "Just remember that you own me one Uzumaki." Naruto nodded happily and curled up on his side of the couch, ready to drift away at any given moment.

Ebisu stood up and glanced down at the kid, trying to crush the smile that was trying to make itself known. 'He must be exhausted after running from that group of angry lunatics all day. He forgot to even take off his sandals.' He moved towards his supply closet and took out a blanket before moving back to Naruto's still form and carefully placing the sheet over the boy.

"Oyasuminasai Naruto-kun." He whispered to the sleeping boy before making his way to his own room, slipping into bed and falling into a dreamless sleep.

His eyes fluttered open, squinting slightly in the sunlight and Ebisu vaguely wondered what had woken him about, he was about to dismiss the odd feeling that he was being watched, when something _delightfully_ soft made contact with his lips. His eyes snapped open, half expecting to see a certain naked blonde female kissing him.

His eyes grew even wider when he saw it was a fully clothed, _male_ Naruto.

Naruto pulled away uneasily, pouting and blushing. "There, now we're even!"

It took Ebisu's sleep deprived mind a bit longer than usual to figure out what the boy was talking about. 'Huh? ... Even? Oh yeah… I told him he owed me one.' Still not completely awake Ebisu sleepily replied. "It's going to take a lot more then one kiss for us to be even Naruto-kun." He let out a yawn and Naruto bit his lip, cheeks now rosy pink in colour.

"Well then! I'll be sure to give you a satisfactory amount of kisses and then soon enough we'll be even!" Naruto said as he struck a pose that eerily reminded Ebisu of Gai, the dark haired man shuddered.

"Ja ne Closet Pervert! Don't miss me too much!" Naruto said rushing out the window and Ebisu cocked an eyebrow. 'Wasn't I going to escort him home? … Waitaminute! What did I do!' He gripped at his hair mercilessly, eyes wide at the thought of what he'd made Naruto vow.

Well it wasn't too bad, the boy did have a pair of awfully nice lips, softer than any girl's by far, even Naruto's female form didn't compare when it came to that.

'Well, I suppose it's alright, he is a fairly good kisser from what I know.' "Alright Naruto, I'll go along with this, but don't think that you're going to walk away from this experience still kissing like some thirteen year old virgin-" Ebisu coughed a bit, realizing that Naruto was, indeed thirteen years of age and probably never had sex. "Never mind that, as Konoha's greatest teacher I shall be sure to advance your technique!"

And boy did he ever, and Naruto didn't really mind, even after his 'dept' was repaid.


	22. HayaNaru

Warnings: Non-cannon.

Pairing: Hayate/Naru

Summary: Chibi Naru has a cold, and even if he is the fox, Hayate knows what it's like to be sick so he takes care of Naruto and becomes attached to the boy.

Genre: Romance, WAFF

Rating: PG-13

""-speech

''-thoughts

Coughing wasn't an unusual sound for Hayate to experience. The bone rattling, shoulder shaking hacks as he coughed and coughed until he either was able to stop, or blood started to appear on his hand and his friends, worried expressions on their faces, would quickly escort him to a medic nin. They knew what to do to make him better; they'd been helping him for sixteen years so far.

Yes, coughing wasn't an odd occurrence in the Gekkou house, since the only child had been sick ever since birth.

But that wasn't the point, the point was that this sick, heart wrenching cough wasn't coming from Hayate, it was coming from around the corner, in an alleyway.

It was a dark, cold night in the middle of winter and Hayate was walking home alone after a day's training with his sensei and teammates when he had heard a very soft sound, which quickly began growing in volume until he could tell that it was someone coughing, painfully.

He quickly turned into the alleyway, rushing towards a small, crouched figure. He knelt down beside the small child and quickly pulled out his thermos, his herbal tea would be cold by now, but it would hopefully still sooth the child's throat.

"Here, drink this, it will help." He muttered softly, bringing the thermos to the resisting child's lips, sighing with relief when the kid slowly began drinking and his coughing began to subdue.

"Thanks…" The kid whispered, his voice hoarse and Hayate nodded his head in a 'your welcome' gesture. "Now then, why don't you tell me where you-" The kid slumped against the wall, asleep. "… Live." Hayate sighed. 'Well, I can't leave the kid out here, he'll get even more sick then he already is.' He gently picked the child up and began walked out of the alleyway. 'I wonder who their parents are. They must be worried sick.'

Then he walked out of the alley, and into the street light. His eyes widened drastically, he hadn't been able to see very well in the darkness of the alleyway, and he was shocked to find who was resting peacefully in his arms.

Uzumaki Naruto, a whole ten years younger then Hayate at six, the host for the Kyuubi, the child that practically everyone in the village age fifteen and up, hated.

'But, he doesn't look like the little terror he's made out to be, he looks… Like a normal six year old. That's it, so… That's what he is.' Hayate nodded to himself, knowing what it felt like to be the odd one out. Back in his academy years he had no friends because they all thought he was contagious, and even after his teacher had, quite obviously told the other children he wasn't contagious (She had asked for every child but Hayate to come into the hallway and Hayate could hear her screech at them.) nobody wanted to play with him or train with him, since they believed he was physically weaker than everybody else, even though he could probably beat each one of them in a spar without breaking into a sweat.

'Well he needs someone to take care of him when he's sick.' He thought to himself in determination, his pace quickening. 'And I know how painful it can be, parents away on missions when all I wanted was for okaa-san to some home, tuck me into bed and kiss it better. Being alone when you're sick sucks more then just being alone.' He gazed down at the sleeping boy and managed a small smile as he silently crept into his house, up the stairs and into his room, carefully placing the pale boy on his futon and placing the covers over him. 'There you go, Nar-' He began coughing and he quickly rushed out of the room, so as not to wake the other boy up with the racket.

'Tea, I need tea.' He ran towards the kitchen and started the kettle, feeling as though he would cough up a lung any minute.

"Hayate! Hayate honey, are you alright?" His mother probably jumped down the entire flight of stairs and in a flash was beside him, mixing together the bitter herbs that made up his tea. "Hayate, don't wait until you cough up blood, just drink it cold." She scolded, pouring the lukewarm water into the mug and pressing it to her son's lips. He drank it quickly, his eyes scrunched together as the sharp liquid invaded his senses and then, still coughing lightly he leant against the counter, his mother beginning to fuss over him.

"Honey you shouldn't have been out so late, you know what the cold air does to you." "It couldn't be helped okaa-san, sensei had us train late." "We'll I'm going to have a little _talk_ with your sensei then, who does she think she is, she should know by now that your condition doesn't allow you to be out in the cold." She was already pushing her son up the stairs, babbling on behind him. "And I'm going to need to go to the medic-nins to get you some more of that herbal tea tomorrow. Now then, off to bed you go." She opened his door and Hayate quickly went inside, lest she see the small form lying on his bed.

"Goodnight okaa-san." "Goodnight sweet heart." He shut the door and sighed. 'I guess I'm always going to be her sick little baby, no matter how much I grow up.' He gazed at the figure curled on the bed, his breathing scratchy.

'Don't worry Naruto.' He coughed into a clenched fist. 'I'll take care of you.' He curled up on his floor and fell asleep in mere moments.

He woke up at his habitual time of six in the morning, even though he didn't have training today. It took him a moment to realize why he was sleeping on his floor before his eyes snapped to the futon. He heaved a sigh of relief; he almost thought that some angry villager would take the child away in the night. 'It's a good thing they didn't, because then they'd have to deal with me.' He thought grimly, his eyes drifting to the sword that leaned against the wall before he looked down at himself and flushed in the realization that he'd slept in his training clothes, Chuunin jacket and all. 'I'll just change now, while he's still asleep, and then maybe, if mother and father have gone on missions already, I can wake him up and bring him downstairs to have some breakfast.'

He quickly changed into a pair of kaki pants and a dark blue t-shirt. And made his way downstairs, his okaa-san, being the mother hen that she is, always left a note when both she and his otou-san left for a mission.

'Ah, there it is, next to that, that stuff.' Hayate absolutely hated the 'tea' that he had to drink, but it was a lot better then the medicine he would be forced to take otherwise.

'I should probably make Naruto some tea too; just to be sure he doesn't have such a bad coughing fit again.' He put the kettle on the stove and took two mugs out of the cupboard, gingerly scooping two spoonfuls of the herbal mixture into each mug.

'I wonder what he'd want for breakfast? I should probably make him some miso soup, anything to sweet or sour might make him sick.' Hayate smiled to himself, this was his first time taking care of someone who was sick and he was sure he wasn't going to mess it up! He was a prodigy at swordsmanship, he was a Chuunin despite his chronic illness, and was almost at Jounin level while his two teammates had still failed to pass the Chuunin exam. He had been taken care of so many times, he was sure he'd be great at taking care of another!

The kettle had begun whistling and Hayate carefully pouring the steaming contents into the two mugs, quickly downing his own with a dissatisfied frown and a grimace. Before picking up the other mug and slowly making his way up the stairs, until he heard a muffled scream.

He appeared in front of his bedroom in a flash and shoved the door open, his eyes scanning the room when they caught sight of Naruto, shaking in a corner.

'I suppose it's strange, waking up in a different room then you're used to.' He crouched down and slowly moved forward.

"It's okay Naruto, I'm just going to take care of you, I'm not here to hurt you." Frightened blue eyes looked up at him and Hayate stifled a gasp at the beautiful shade of blue that they were.

"H-How do you know my 'ame?" Naruto sniffed and coughed a bit and Hayate felt his whole being fill with empathy for the boy.

"I know you're name just because I do, now drink this tea. You had some last night, remember? It should help sooth your throat, you were coughing an awful lot when I found you." Naruto looked up at him, his eyebrows scrunched together.

"Why do you wanna 'elp me?" The child asked in a strangled voice and Hayate felt fury form at the very pit of his stomach, anger at the villagers who must have mistreated him the boy's whole life. 'For him to be so suspicious at others motives, just at the age of six! What have they done to him to make him so wary around others?' He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself, but ended up doubling over, coughing.

"'ey! Are you ''right mis'er!" Naruto crawled forward and patted Hayate on the back for a moment before his eyes caught sight of the mug. "'ere mis'er, drink this." He handed the cup to Hayate, who gently took it from the younger boys grasp and downed it in one gulp, nearly chocking at the flavor.

Naruto giggled beside him. "I don'' t'ink I'd wanna drink that stuff." Hayate couldn't help but chuckle along with him.

He had made sure Naruto stayed in bed all day, and had managed to force some of the tea into him, and had even fed him some miso soup, although the boy began whining that miso ramen would be much better. He had told the boy to have a nap and then made his way into the outside world to buy a deck of cards. 'Maybe I can teach him go fish, or maybe rummy?' His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a yell and he quickly rushed to where the noise was coming from.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T FOUND HIM YET?" "Hokage-sama, you must understand, we're trying as hard as we can!" "Nonsense! I want Naruto found quickly!" "Hai Hokage-sama, I understand-"

Hayate let the rest of the conversation fade out of his mind as he noticed two things; the third Hokage seemed very upset by Naruto disappearance, while some of the other nins standing before the Hokage seemed to be holding back their smiles.

'They're happy that he's gone!' Realization dawned on Hayate and he once again felt anger churning at the pit of his stomach. 'Bastards!' He turned on his heel and made his way home, completely forgetting about the cards.

Once Naruto had woken up from his nap Hayate had asked if he was feeling better and Naruto nodded an enthusiastic 'yes'. "My throat don'' feel itchy at all!" He rejoiced happily and Hayate smiled. "That's because of that nasty tea you drank." Naruto face scrunched up and Hayate laughed happily.

He had put Naruto to bed at seven o' clock and he smiled as the boy's breathing evened out. 'He'll be better by tomorrow.' He quietly exited the room. 'He's such a sweet kid; I can't imagine why the others can't see that. The must be too wrapped up in their hatred.' He made his way downstairs, stopping when he heard the sound of fevered whispering. He made his way outside the kitchen door and listened carefully.

"Honey, we have to search for him, its Hokage-sama's orders." "I don't care! I will not go searching for that- that demon child!" "Darling, I don't want to look for him either, that thing killed my sister! But we have too; do you think anyone wants to look for that wicked child? No! But we have too, if he isn't found soon, Hokage-sama, he'll go mad!" "I really don't see why he likes that kid so much…."

Hayate silently made his way up the stairs, feeling tears forming. 'How can they? How can they say something so mean about-' He opened his door and gazed at the sleeping boy. 'such a sweet, cute boy. I bet he's never done anything bad in his entire life! It wasn't his fault he was chosen to be the host for Kyuubi, it wasn't his fault.' He grabbed the sword leaning against the wall. 'From now on, I'm going to train harder then ever before, so that I can protect innocent people like Naruto.' He nodded to himself and disappeared into the night to train.

Morning came too quickly it seemed, and although he hadn't had a wink of sleep Hayate felt more alive than usual as he leapt over the rooftops, Naruto in his arms, still a bit drowsy.

"I'm just going to drop you off at Hokage Tower, okay Naruto?" The boy nodded sleepily and Hayate smiled as he landed on the staircase of Hokage Tower, bounding up the stairs and into the building, dropping of Naruto in front of the third's office.

"You go and tell him you're okay Naruto, alright? He's been really worried about you." Naruto nodded and Hayate was gone in a flash.

Naruto opened the door shyly and stepped into the room.

"Hokage-sama, we're looking as hard as we can!" "How hard is it to find a child when half of this country's population is out looking for him!" "Ojii-san?" Sarutobi's eyes snapped up. "Naruto!" He quickly engulfed the boy in a hug. "Where have you been Naruto? I was worried." Naruto pulled out of the hug, a smile on his face. "I was okay ojii-san, I had an angel watching over me."

Over the years Hayate was sure to keep a close eye on the growing boy and if Naruto so much as sneezed he'd often find a cup of still-warm 'tea' on his bedside table, and if he ever truly got sick he'd find himself being whisked away from reality for a few days, and being taken care of by the man who he still didn't know the name of, so he just called him Tenshi (Angel). One may think it was odd that he never bothered to ask his name, but it seemed that there was never any time between drinking the nasty stuff, playing card games and being told that he should have a nap. Besides, Naruto liked a good mystery.

With so few positive people in his life, and many times where he'd be secluded with the other man as the only link to the outside world, it was only natural that he developed some sort of feelings for the older man. Of course these feelings were pushed aside in favor of pursing Sakura-chan, but they were always there, waiting in the background.

Hayate silently exited the Hokage's office his face blank. 'Referee for the preliminaries, huh?' He made his was out of Hokage tower, coughing slightly into his enclosed fist.

He decided not to rush home, after all, he heard that the flu was going around and there was that slight chance… 'I'm far to happy to take care of Naruto to be normal, it's like I want him to get sick, just so I can have an excuse to take care of him.' His feet lead him to a familiar bridge and he sighed. 'Come on Hayate, you know full well that's he's only here in the mornings, waiting for his sensei… I sound like a stalker.' He turned away from the bridge, making his way along the still-busy streets of Konoha. 'The exam begins tomorrow, I hope he'll do well on the first test.' He walked home, the house seemed a lot more empty now that his father had passed on, and his mother was still always on missions, always gone. 'I'll cross my fingers for you Naruto.'

He woke up at six and had nervously paced around until it was time for him to report for duty, he was guarding the upper division of Konoha's wall today. 'I wonder if the exam has started by now.' He allowed his eyes to roam over his village from his vintage point and he bit his bottom lip. 'There's still several days until I'm the referee, I can't ask if Naruto passed the first part without being suspicious, so I guess I just have to hope he'll understand what he needs to do to pass.'

His days were filled with a fitful misery that only lightened up when he'd overheard Izumo and Kotetsu complaining that the 'Kyuubi-brat' shouldn't have passed the first test. He was happy to hear that Naruto passed, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel anger blooming within him. 'They don't know what Naruto's really like, they don't know anything but what they perceive as reality.'

When the day when he would watch over the preliminaries of the Chuunin Exam finally came he was sure he was going to have a panic attack! Many Genin not only lost their scrolls in the Forest of Death, but their lives as well. 'I guess I'll just have to be patient, Naruto won't die, he's much too stubborn to give up on life.'

Naruto stood uncomfortably in the group Genins, half listening to Sakura ask Sasuke about some bruise and daydreaming about ramen. Umm ramen…

Then he heard a cough.

Call it natural instincts, but Naruto _knew _that cough, he'd heard it so many times that it was absolutely impossible for him to not know who was making the muffled sound.

His once glassy eyes focused on the man who was now speaking and Naruto felt his heart starting to race. 'Tenshi is here? I can't loose in front of him, I have to show him how strong I've become! Now matter who I go up against, Sasuke-teme, Fuzzy Brows, Sakura-chan, I won't loose!' Naruto grinned confidently, there was no way he was going to make a fool of himself in front of his Tenshi!

(Things progressed as they did before….)

Naruto practically skipped on the way home, he had fought well (sort of) and hadn't embarrassed himself (maybe) and he was sure his Tenshi was proud of him!

'I'm gonna take a nice long rest today, and then tomorrow I'm going to get Kakashi-sensei to train me!'

The streets were nearly empty and with no villagers in front of him Naruto felt it was safe to close his eyes and picture his angel's face, it looked as though he hadn't had much sleep lately. 'Poor Tenshi, I wonder if he'll ever get be-' He felt himself bump into someone and his eyes snapped open. "Ah, gomen, I didn't mean to!" His eyes widened a bit.

"That's okay Naruto, I believe you. Although it's not safe to walk around with your eyes closed like that." Hayate responded softly and Naruto blushed.

"You did a really good job back there, I have no doubt that you'll do great in the next round of the Chuunin Exam." Naruto blush grew and he looked away shyly. "R-Really? Thanks for your support!" Naruto gave him the thumbs up. "I know if you back me up I'll win for sure Tenshi!" Hayate blinked in confusion. "Angel? What do you mean by that?" Naruto turned away red in the face, not noticing that the older man had a flush on his face as well.

"Well you see, I don't know your name, and I wasn't really listening when Ojii-san introduced you." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and Hayate chuckled.

"Well then, I suppose it's only fair that you know who I am, I'm Hayate, Gekkou Hayate." Naruto laughed and Hayate frowned. "What?" "It's your last name, it means moonlight, it just sounds really cute!" Hayate blushed again. "Thanks, I guess…" Naruto began skipping away. "Goodbye Moonlight!" Hayate brought his hand up in a small wave, eyebrow twitching. 'Moonlight? Is that my new nickname now?'

His life was filled with piles upon piles of paperwork which he'd complete in a cramped up office space. He was constantly being told to go outside and get some fresh air by his colleagues, but if he let his focus slip from his work for one minute all he'd be able to think about would be Naruto.

Naruto's hair, Naruto's eyes, Naruto's smile… If Hayate let his concentration slip just a little he knew he'd be doomed to daydream about the kawaii boy. So even as he felt his health slipping away, he stayed cooped up with a constant supply of tea at his side.

It had been several weeks of paperwork until one of his higher ups, Shiranui Genma, had ordered him to go get a check up at the hospital, apparently he was looking 'worse than normal.' Hayate didn't know if he should be insulted by that comment, but he decided to go anyways, he _was_ feeling a little woozy.

The walk to the hospital had been unusually strenuous and he even felt himself break out into a cold sweat. 'I must be sicker than I thought. Maybe I just didn't notice because I was too concentrated on my work.'

By the time he actually reached the hospital he felt absolutely exhausted and medic nins who were familiar with his condition were already flocking around him. 'I guess I should have gotten that breath of fresh air everyone told me I needed.'

Naruto eyes fluttered open and he gazed at his surroundings feeling absolutely exhausted. Trying to stay on top of Gamma-bunta while he hopped around was harder than he thought it would be! 'And I used up a lot of energy summoning him, I feel really tired.' His eyes closed and he tried to go back to sleep, but there seemed to be some sort of _loud_ commotion in the room next to his. He glared at the ceiling and inwardly cursed whoever was making the noise.

"But I don't want to! Can't I just have more of that tea?" "Gekkou-san, you've let yourself slip, you don't need the tea, you need this medicine." "… But I don't want to…" There was a small coughing fit. "… I really hate that stuff…" More coughing sounded from inside the other room.

Naruto sweatdropped. 'Moonlight sounds like a whiney kid, that medicine must be really nasty if he'd rather have the tea.' Naruto frowned and shuddered, he'd only had it a couple of times in his short life, but it was by far the nastiest thing he'd ever tasted and he never wanted to try it again!

'I wonder why Moonlight's here, he must be really sick if he actually came to the hospital, I should go see him-' He couldn't seem to find the energy to move so he slumped back onto his pillows. 'Later, after a nap.'

When he woke up again the sky was dark with only a few red beams of light reaching up from the east. Naruto silently crept out of his bed and into the hallway, stopping in front of the door that would lead him to his Moonlight.

He lowly crept in, thanking any deity he could think of when the door didn't creak, and he tip toed over to Hayate's bed, peering down at him curiously. He couldn't really tell if Moonlight looked sicker than usual in the dim lighting, but he could always wait until morning. That thought in mind he curled up on the end of Hayate's bed and went to sleep once again.

Hayate groaned and turned away from the window that was letting _far_ too much light in for his taste. He felt his feet brush against something firm at the bottom of his bed and his eyes snapped open as he sat up.

"Na-Naruto!" The boy muttered something under his breath and folded in upon himself even more.

Hayate's eyes squinted a little as he carefully observed the boy lying at the foot of his bed. 'What is Naruto doing here? He didn't get sick, did he?'

Naruto began murmuring unintelligible words as he flip onto his back and stretched out, his head lolling over the side of the bed.

"Naruto, wake up." Hayate crawled forward and began poking the boy. "Come on, you have to tell me why you're in the hospital." Naruto's eyes opened and he mock-glared at Hayate. "Why are _you_ in the hospital?" He crossed his arms, pouting and Hayate sighed. "I'm a little more under the weather than usual, what about you." Naruto sat up and gave him the peace sign. "I was completely drained of energy, but I feel fine now!" "Oh, that's good…"

Naruto grinned up at Hayate, a suspicious looking twinkle in his eye. "Hey Moonlight, guess what!" "… Umm, I don't know." "Now I can take care of you for once, just like all the times you took care of me! And I'll start by making you take your medicine." He jumped off the bed and picked up a transparent vial of a reddish/purple liquid. "That is your medicine, right?" Hayate turned away and frowned. "Maybe…" "HA! That means yes!"

Naruto pounced onto Hayate and in an effort to keep him still straddled the struggling man's waist. Hayate's cheeks heated up immediately and Naruto pressed a hand to his forehead. "Well, you don't feel hot, but your face got really red all of a sudden, dattebayo!" 'Oh, I believe it alright.' "Naruto, would you mind getting off of me?" "Will you take your medicine?"

Ah, so it was going to come down to a battle of wills was it? Well neither of them felt like backing down. Hayate absolutely hated that medicine (and he didn't really mind Naruto hovering over him like he was) and Naruto wanted to make sure that he could nurse Hayate back to health.

Man, it was a good thing no one had walked in on them yet, that would be awkward.

"Moonlight! You're going to take this medicine whether you like it or not!" "What did I ever do to deserve this?" "Hey, you made me drink that tea while I was sick, and now I'm going to make you take your medicine!"

While they were mindlessly bickering Naruto had come up with an almost perfect plan! It would cause some personal sacrifice, but he was almost positive that he would get a good reaction! 'Time to do the unthinkable!' He popped the lid off of the vial and poured the contents into his own mouth, he would have smiled when Hayate went still beneath him, but now was not the time for that, he had to get the disgusting liquid out of his mouth!

He quickly pressed his lips against Hayate's and pried the other man's mouth open and forcing the medicine into the older man. He pulled away, both of them gagging.

"Ewwww, no wonder you didn't want to drink that stuff, it's horrible!" Naruto loudly exclaimed, feeling his cheeks heat up. 'I can't believe that I kissed him… But it was nice.'

Hayate stared up at Naruto with wide eyes. "If that's how you'll make me take my medicine, I think its okay for me to be si-" Hayate covered his mouth and inwardly screamed. 'I CAN'T BELIEVE I SAID THAT OUT LOUD!'

Naruto blinked slowly and leaned down until they were nose to nose. "Really? Does that mean if I you're ever sick you'll have your medicine if I give it to you like that?" Hayate blushed and nodded and Naruto grinned.

"I hope you get sick more often then, I like playing doctor with you!" Hayate started having a coughing fit and Naruto leapt off of him. "Gomen! I wasn't crushing your lungs or anything was I?" Hayate shook his head and heaved a sigh of relieve when the coughing subsided.

"Naruto, do you know what playing doctor is?" Naruto rubbed his chin for a moment, his eyes squinting. "Hmm… Nope, but if anything I've heard is true, it means I have to kiss you better. So… Where does it hurt Moonlight?" Naruto clasped his hands together and fluttered his eyelashes while Hayate nervously began to wring his hands. 'This is getting to be a fairly awkward situation.' "Come on Moonlight, just tell me where it hurts and I'll make it aaaalllllll better."

Hayate backed away nervously, but Naruto just leaned in closer, a serene smile playing upon his features.

"You know Moonlight, I really like you." "I like you to Naruto." "You were really one of the first people to actually care about me. A-And, I really, _really_ like you."

Hayate carefully studied Naruto blushing visage. 'Does this mean that my affections can be returned?' "I really like you to Naruto, so much that it borders on being twisted." Naruto's smile didn't vanish as the young boy leaned in closer. "But I was always told that nothing mattered when you were in love, so a decade of age difference shouldn't mean anything." "Love?" "Yes, love." Naruto blushed and leaned even closer.

"Now then Moonlight, tell me where it hurts, I want to take very good care of you" He said in a hushed whisper before pressing his lips to Hayate's in a soft and simple kiss, and, feeling confident that he wasn't going to be receiving any more medicine using this method for now, Hayate kissed back.


	23. GenmaNaru

Warnings: If you haven't gotten around to the final part of the Chuunin exam, spoilers.

Pairing: Genma/Naru

Summary: Genma is heartbroken over the death of his best friend, but maybe light can come back into his life, from an unexpected source.

Genre: WAFF

Rating: PG

""-speech

''-thoughts

Shiranui Genma sat on the bed in his dark room, curtains closed to ensure that not even starlight or moonlight would enter into the inky blackness of his room. Normally Genma hated to be completely surrounded by the dark, it made him feel trapped and lost, but tonight it suited his mood.

Hayate, his best friend, had been found today, his body ripped apart.

He knew that he wasn't the only one who felt disturbed and saddened by Hayate's death; he knew that Uzuki Yuugao had already vowed to avenge Hayate. She was probably out there, doing something to find Hayate's killer while he sat there in the dark, biting back tears.

'He always trained so hard with that sword of his; he never needed a kunai or shuriken, he was the one of the best fighters I knew, how could he be gone?'

It was a dull existence without Hayate, the younger man was the only one who ever understood his jokes, his way of thinking, hell, the younger guy could practically read his mind! And now he was gone… Aoba and Raido had already shown their concern for him and his unusual withdrawal from his normal lifestyle, but he couldn't help it.

And then to top it off, only a few days later the Hokage was killed. Life as he knew it was just become darker and darker. Konoha was in shambles and if they didn't find a new Hokage soon they would be easy prey for Orochimaru and his allies.

He had already heard that the village elders had attempted to make Jiraiya of the Three Legendary Sennin become the Fifth Hokage, but apparently the attempt failed and the Frog Hermit as well as Uzumaki Naruto were going to find Tsunade, another of the Legendary Three, so that she could become Hokage.

How Jiraiya knew Uzumaki was a tough case to crack, but how the Frog Hermit would willingly go on a journey with the boy was a completely different matter.

Genma had been referee for the Chuunin exam, he had seen Uzumaki fight with determination and outsmart Neji, a prodigy student. But still, the boy was notorious for playing pranks and being a loudmouth ear sore, why on earth would someone tolerate him?

But that being put aside, he had more pressing matters to deal with, although he would love to mourn, sulk and lament, his duties as a ninja had become even more important. Rebuilding Konoha was a job for villagers and Genin while Chuunins and his fellow Jounin had to work harder than ever before to prove that their village still had its strength.

He along with many others silently prayed that the Fifth Hokage would be found, they needed a strong leader soon or the Konoha that they knew and loved would be destroyed by Orochimaru's forces.

It had been a great relief for everyone of the village when Jiraiya and Naruto had returned with Tsunade and her apprentice, Shizune. And although Genma hated to admit it, the village was a lot livelier with the blonde haired boy around.

He'd been walking home from guard duty one day and had actually run into the boy, well, walked into him. He'd murmured a small apology and turned to walk away, but stop when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He had raised an eyebrow in a silent question as he glanced back at the boy, who just gave him a 100 watt smile and said. "Don't worry about the past; there are always things to look forward to in life." And then Naruto had jogged away, grin still in place while Genma stood there, bewildered. Did the boy somehow know he was still upset over Hayate's death, even while his own comrades believed he had got over his depression? Curiosity began to bloom within him, strikingly similar to the curiosity he'd felt when he first laid his eyes on the sword wielding ninja with a chronic cough. Hayate could always see right through him too.

Genma had never been all too happy about people being able to read him like a book, even though the numbers of those people were few and far between. But maybe, just maybe he could handle one more person being able to predict his every thought. He kind of missed someone telling him not to do something stupid every night he was planning to go out and get drunk. Hayate always had a weird sixth sense for that kind of thing.

It had been a couple of weeks since Genma had bumped into Naruto, and lately he could feel the boy following him around, every day. Whenever he'd turn around and confront the boy about it, Naruto would say: "Just making sure you're not going to kill yourself with depression."

He was a strange boy, but it was sweet, sort of, to have the kid follow him around to make sure he was alright.

It was something Hayate would have done.

Come to think of it, despite Naruto's extroverted personality and Hayate's introverted personality, the two were very much alike. Always think about the wellbeing of others, always making sure that he was alright.

But still, being stalked around everyday was going a little bit overboard.

'He's here again.' Genma sighed and stifled a smile as the leaves of the tree behind him rustled loudly on the windless afternoon.

"Oi, I know you're there, so just come out of that tree before I drag you down here." He said lazily as he laid back on the ground, chewing on his senbon.

He heard the boy mutter a curse as he leapt out of his hiding spot and couldn't stop the smile that was forming on his lips. "You're not the most silent ninja you know, you can't sneak up and spy on me that easily." From the corner of his eye he could see the boy stomp his foot in agitation. 'So childish, it's kind of cute.'

"Jeez, is that the thanks I get for watching over you? I don't know what you're so depressed about, but I can see it in your eyes, you're trying to hide it!" "So what if I am? It shouldn't be of any concern to you." The kid took a couple of steps forward until he was standing beside Genma's prone form, starring down at him. "I know it's not my business, but I can't help but worry when I see people with such sad eyes, like mine. I may not be able to do anything to help you be happy again, but I can at least make sure you don't do anything stupid!"

'Anything stupid, eh?' Genma smirked and stood up. 'That sounds like something Hayate would say.' He began to walk away but before he was too far he stopped and looked back.

"Hey Naruto." "What?" "Thanks for caring, but don't wear yourself out too much." "I won't! I'd never wear myself out worrying over you!"

Genma had a genuine smile on his face as he walked away.

Hayate would say something like that too.


	24. JiraiNaru

Warnings: Shouta.

Pairing: Jiraiya/Naru

Summary: After forgetting the birthday of his beloved student, Jiraiya decides to redeem himself by teaching Naruto a special technique.

Genre: Romance I guess…

Rating: R for suggestive stuff.

""-speech

''-thoughts

"Ano sa, ano sa Ero Sennin, are you going to teach me something cool today! What about that technique where your hair turns into spikes! Or what about-"

Jiraiya sighed heavily as he blocked out the irritating noise that was attempting to ruin his precious morning. One year, he'd been training Naruto away from Konoha for one year so far, and the boy was still so horribly energetic! He wanted new techniques everyday, even if he hadn't finished perfecting old ones!

"OI! Wake up you good for nothing hentai!" Jiraiya rolled over, desperately trying to ignore the angry boy. 'Why can't he just let me sleep?' He glared at the steaming boy from the corner of his eye, Naruto just glared back.

"Get up! You could at least teach me a cool technique on today of all days, right?" Jiraiya cocked an eyebrow. "What's so important about today?"

Naruto locked shocked for a moment, then he looked like he was going to cry, then he looked extremely angry.

"JIRAIYA NO BAKA!" Before Jiraiya could react Naruto had run out of the spacey tent, he sat up, slightly surprised that no bodily harm had been done to him.

"What's so important about today?" He ran his hand though his hair absentmindedly, trying to remember if anything important was going on. 'It's October right? October tenth, what's so import- oh fuck!' He stood up and in a flash was hot on the trail of a now fifteen year old boy.

It wasn't too hard to find the boy, since they were training in a rather barren area, but approaching him was tricky, since Jiraiya _really_ didn't feel like getting close enough to see if Naruto's eyes were still blue. Forgetting the birthday of a boy you were in a relationship with, when the boy happened to have a _powerful_ demon sealed inside of him, _was not very smart_. Thankfully all his years of research allowed him to approach the boy undetected.

"Oi Naruto, you don't think I'd really forget your birthday, right?" He laid his hands on Naruto's shoulders, frowning when the boy stiffened at the contact. "You forgot, you only remembered after I left." Naruto shrugged the older man's hands off and frowned. "And I thought you really did like me, but if you can't even remember my birthday, you must have been lying all those times you said I was a great kid." Naruto sniffed and Jiraiya pouted. "Oh come on, just because I have a horrible memory doesn't mean I lie, I really do like you Naruto-" 'You should know that by _now_.' "Besides, you can't blame a matured man like me for being scatter brained once in a while." Naruto looked up at him with bright, red rimmed eyes and Jiraiya felt his insides melt. "So you admit that you forgot." "Yes, but in order to make it up to you, I'll show you a cool new technique!" "Really?" "Hai." Jiraiya gripped Naruto's left hand in his and with his right hand began to make seals.

"Jurei Tensou No Jutsu, Juu Toshiha!" (Age Transfer Technique, Ten Years)

A yellow glow began to form around their joined hands, moving alone their arms to the rest of their bodies and completely covering them with its golden light which faded away slowly.

"Ero Sennin, what was that?" Naruto asked in confusion, his eyebrows rising at the sound of his own voice. "Why is my voice deeper and-" He squinted at the man in front of him. "Why do you look younger than before?" Jiraiya practically face-faulted. "You can't tell!" Naruto shook his head and Jiraiya sighed. "Just take a look at yourself and you'll see." Naruto frowned and looked down at his feet, which seemed to be a little too big for his sandals, come to think of it, his jumped seemed a bit tight, and his hands were definitely not that big!

"What the hell did you do to me?" "Oh, nothing much, I'm just borrowing some of your youth for a while." Naruto grabbed Jiraiya's collar and began shaking him frantically. "Give it back! I don't want to be old!" "Baka! You're only twenty five! That's not old!" "But I don't want to be twenty five!" Naruto sobbed and out came the water works, Jiraiya sweatdropped and patted Naruto on the shoulders.

"Don't worry, you'll turn back to your normal fifteen year old self in a week, and I'll go back to being fifty one instead of forty one. Now that, this technique is really nifty if you want to change appearances, and since ten years of your youth was transferred to me it isn't actually genjutsu, so other ninja's won't know that you're not actually this age." Naruto looked up at him with teary eyes. "So, this is a cool technique you're going to teach me?" "Sure." "SUGOI!" "But, for teaching you such an awesome technique, I want you to do something for me." Naruto frowned and glared at him.

"I didn't have to do anything other then train when you taught me the Rasengan, and that technique is much cooler than this one." "True, but this is a very special technique for me-" "I don't see why, I'll admit that it's cool, but it's not as great as some of the other techniques I've seen you do." "Shh! I said that it was special for me! This can help us take the next step in our relationship." Naruto blinked up at him and smirked. "You mean our taboo student teacher relationship?" Jiraiya nodded proudly. "You're not a little kid anymore, which makes me feel a lot less like a pervert-" "You ARE a pervert." "… And on the plus side, if you did Orioke no Jutsu then I'd be able to see you as a matured woman." "Dirty pervert." "Not if you're the legal age of consent I'm not." "Only in body, not in mind. And you're _still_ a pervert."

Jiraiya, frankly un-amused with the pitiful excuse of an argument they were having decided to liven things up with a kiss. He had learned over the past four months that kisses were very useful, for instance, when he wanted Naruto to be quiet, or to get the boy to stop arguing with him, or get the boy into a flustered state where he looked so adorable that Jiraiya just wanted to pin him to the nearest wall, bed, any available surface really, and _ravish_ the boy.

It also helped that Naruto was always eager to learn and kissing was no different, he'd once been a stumbling, shy kisser and had turned into an experienced, passionate boy who seemed to be able to go without air for long amounts of time.

But now that he could go further without feeling_ too_ guilty, kissing wasn't the only thing on his mind. He lifted the young man up into his arms, their lips still connected, and blindly made his way to their tent for what seemed like ages.

"You sure are energetic for an old man." Naruto whispered against his lips and Jiraiya smirked. "You think? Just wait and I'll show you how energetic I can be." "Ohhh, exciting."

Jiraiya stumbled into the tent and dropped Naruto onto a twisted pile of sheets, the blonde pouted up at him, before suggestively patting the space next to him. Jiraiya didn't need any more convincing. He slowly stretched himself out on his side and cupped Naruto's face in his hands, a serious look on his face. "Are you ready to be part of the ultimate taboo?"

Naruto answered him with a kiss, which was a definite yes unless the boy was just trying to tease him, but Naruto wasn't that cruel, hopefully.

They had quickly stripped each other of their clothing while their tongues tangled in an erotic battle for dominance, hands roamed, nails scratched, and occasionally an ear or shoulder would be bitten harshly before the pain was gently kissed away.

"Aren't you happy I'm teaching you this technique Naruto?" Jiraiya smirked down at the boy beneath him, grinding their hips together and chuckling as Naruto chocked back a moan. "So inexperienced, I'll have to rectify that."

"Hentai, you just want to teach me your perverted 'techniques'." Naruto whimpered as Jiraiya took hold of his erection and began caressing it lightly. "Oh, is that a bad thing? Maybe I should just leave then." "Baka! I never said I didn't want to learn _those_ techniques!" "Oh? Then I'll have to make sure to teach you properly. Maybe I'll even test you later." His grip on Naruto's erection tightened and the boy began writhing under him, flushed and panting. 'Any minute now he'll cum, I can't wait to see it.'

Naruto's hands gripped the sheets below him and he desperately tried to buck into Jiraiya's hand. 'So good, nneeee…' He brought one hand up and gripped Jiraiya's hair, pulling the man down for a kiss. Then his hand traveled downwards, lightly tracing over skin before twirling in a patch if wiry hair and brushing along the warm, hard flesh protruding from the white curls. He smirked when he heard Jiraiya's sharp intake of breath and began moving his hand up and down along Jiraiya's manhood.

'Naruto… Sure learns fast.' Jiraiya bit his lip hard to stifle a moan, drawing blood that Naruto was all too happy to lap up.

They brought each other off moments later, moaning each others names in ecstasy as their desires were fulfilled. After a minute of catching his breath Naruto looked up at Jiraiya, a small smile on his lips.

"Ha, you're not so great, I lasted longer then you." Jiraiya glared at him. "Is that anyway to talk to your beloved sensei! I might just have to punish you for such an insolent comment." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Naruto laughed.

"I think that your energy should be put towards teaching me instead of punishing me, after all, a lot can be learned in the six days we have left." "Ah, but who says we're finished for today? I have a lot more stamina than you think." He sealed Naruto's lips with his and inwardly grinned. "By the time I'm done with you, you'll need a week of rest just to recuperate." "Really? Why don't you prove it Ero Sennin?" "Oh don't worry, I will."

And did he ever.


	25. IdateNaru

Sorry I'm a couple days late, but my computer was on during a thunder storm (Smart eh?) and my modem got friiiiiiied. So I didn't have internet until we got a new one, therefore I couldn't update. So anyways GOMEN! Please forgive this horrible person who is stupid enough to have a computer on even though they know a storm's going on outside!

Warnings: Non-cannon, includes a character who was not in the manga at all, so you'll of had to see the filler arc with Idate to understand some stuff.

Pairing: Idate/Naru

Summery: "But-But I thought you liked Sakura-chan!" "I did, but my opinions changed." Idate came to Konoha for a vist and it just so happens Naruto has room.

Genre: Romance, humor

Rating: PG

""-speech

''-thoughts

Naruto sighed, glanced behind him, sighed again, saw his apartment in the distance, sighed again.

He'd been counting the times he'd sighed since he heard the news, he was up to seventeen now.

Morino Idate was back in Konoha, apparently he had been told by Wasabi-san that it was about time he spent some time with his family. So Idate had immediately run over the village of the leaf, fast as lightening, well maybe not, but Naurto thought it was funny to imagine Idate running all the way to Konoha. But getting back on track…

The thing was, Ibiki didn't have too much extra space at his place, and Idate didn't want to leech off of his brother, and Tsunade no-baa-chan didn't want to stick Idate with someone he didn't know.

So where do they decided to put him, his place of course.

Naruto sighed again, that made eighteen. To be honest, he had happily agreed to let the older boy stay at his place, but that was until Idate had started to, well, hit on him.

Now, Naruto may not have been hit on very often, but he knew from observing Sasuke's fan girls what to expect.

'Accidental' touches that lasted to long, fleeting looks, secretive smiles.

And Idate had only been around him for ten minutes, what the hell would he be like by the end of the week!

'Maybe he's just using me to get to Sakura-chan?' He thought as he opened the door to his apartment. Yes, that would make sense, maybe… Possibly… No, if Idate still wanted Sakura to be his girlfriend, then he would just go find her and tell her so, although he'd definitely have to go through Lee to do so, and not even Naruto would mess with Lee's feelings for Sakura anymore.

He had also taken into consideration that the touches really could be accidental, Idate could just be looking at the scenery intently, and he could be thinking of some private joke of his.

It wasn't that he didn't like guys, hell he'd once felt so strongly for Sasuke that it really did border on love instead of just a brotherly sort of affection. He just wasn't used to any sort of romantic affection being shown to him.

"Wow, when Hokage-sama said you had room, I thought you'd have a little more room then this." Idate said and Naruto's eyebrows twitched. "If you don't like it then you can go stay with your brother. Why aren't you staying with him anyways?" Idate brought his hands up in front of him, sweat dropping. "No offence to my Aniki or anything, but even _I'm_ scared of him sometimes." Naruto nodded his head in understanding, Ibiki was pretty creepy, being a torture specialist and all.

"All right that explains one thing. Now, why are you acting so strange around me?"

Idate took a step forward, his face a mask of confusion. "Strange, strange how?"

Naruto inwardly sighed in relief, maybe Idate was just a bit weird today because he hadn't been in Konoha in years.

"Strange as in you're acting like your one of Sasuke's more subtle fan-girls."

"Oh, that's because I like you." "Good, now that tha- wait, what?" "I like you." "But-But I thought you liked Sakura-chan!" Idate shrugged his shoulders casually and Naruto felt his eyebrows twitch. "I did, but my opinions changed." "What opinions! You asked her to quit being a ninja so she could marry you! How is that an opinion!" "What can I say, she's cute." Naruto closed his eyes and counted to ten, then to twenty, then to thirty….

"Hey, stop ignoring me!" 'Forty seven, forty eight, forty nine…' "Come on Naruto, don't be mad, I still think you're cuter." '……. Fifty, fifty one, fifty two, this isn't working, fifty three…' "NARUTO!"

Blue eyes snapped open. "What?" Naruto hissed out and Idate smiled. "How about you quit being a ninja and become my wife."

One severe beating later a busied Idate was laying on the floor, wallowing in self pity. "It was only a joke, why didn't you think it was funny?" Naruto cracked his knuckles threateningly as he loomed over the older boy. "If I have to explain why it wasn't funny, I'll use my fists as punctuation." Idate held his hands up in surrender. "All right, I get it…" He slowly rose off the floor. "Man, you sure are violent." "Man, you sure are annoying." Naruto relied with irritation, his posture stiffening when Idate's arm wrapped around his shoulder.

"Oh I get it, you're just shy aren't you, I bet you aren't hit on a lot-" "_What's that supposed to mean!_" "But don't worry, you'll get used to it." Idate flashed Naruto what the blonde guessed was supposed to be a reassuring smile, he sweat dropped.

'I don't think the next two weeks are going to go by very quickly.'

Every night Idate would ask if they could share the bed, Naruto, of course declined and went to his little 'nest' on the couch.

Every morning he'd wake up to find Idate making them breakfast, and the brown haired boy would say something along the lines of. "Eating ramen all the time isn't good for you, you'll get sick."

Apparently no one bothered to tell him that Naruto only ate ramen since before he could remember, and he was still as healthy as can be!

Sometimes during the day Idate would follow Naruto around while the younger boy was doing missions, sometimes he would even help out. Like when Naruto was being attacked by the cat of a certain wife of the Fire Country's Daimyou. Sometimes Idate would go visit his brother, although those visits seemed to be few and far between.

By the end of the week Naruto felt his resolve slipping. Damn he wasn't used to people hitting on him, and Idate was rather attractive…

But Naruto really didn't want to be with someone because their 'opinions changed.' Idate had once been infatuated with Sakura, just like Naruto had been, just like Lee still was.

Call him a hypocrite, but Naruto didn't believe that Idate could have possibly fallen out of love with Sakura and in love with him in the two days they actually got along.

It took Naruto months to fall out of love with Sakura-chan and months to admit he liked guys.

Maybe Idate was just weird. Yeah, that could make sense…

'Yeah, he's probably just confused.'

"Naruto, it's time for bed!" 'Great, my back's really starting to hurt from sleeping on the couch.' Naruto trudged over to his 'nest' and flopped down, not even bothering to take off his clothes. 'But if he's not just confused, well, that's a different matter all together.' He closed his eyes and within a few seconds had dozed off.

The next morning, confused as to why he could smell any food being made, or hear any footfalls around the house Naruto curiously opened his eyes.

And practically screamed when he saw the brown eyes peering at him.

"Uh, Idate, what are you doing?" "Watching you sleep, why?" Idate tilted his head to the side and Naruto sweat dropped. "It's creepy, don't do it again." "But I thought-" "Don't do it again." Naruto gaze him a warning glare and Idate sighed, nodding his consent.

"Alright, now that that's been taken care of, where's breakfast?" Idate frowned and Naruto squinted his eyes, a frown appearing on his face as well. "What?" "You're getting awfully dependant on me, it's almost like…" Idate took a deep breath. "We're in a relationship already!" Idate skipped away with s grin and Naruto hid his blush under the blankets.

'Is that true, is this what a relationship is like? Well, I guess we'd be doing more lovey dovey things too, but if this is how it is… I think I could handle it.'

Today was a day of no missions so Naruto proposed to Idate that they should go have some fun around town, Idate had calmly agreed before rushing off _somewhere_, presumably to let his excitement get the better of him in a place no one could see.

They spent the day strolling around Konoha, had a terrifying experience when Ibiki strolled by, the older man's eyes glancing at them quizzically for only a moment, ate some mouth watering dango and ambled up to the top of the Hokage monument to watch the sunset.

'Hey, isn't watching the sun set a pretty relationship-like thing to do?' Naruto's eyebrows rose. 'Yes, yes it is.' He bit his bottom lip. 'But we're still not in a relationship, right? I don't think one could have started without me.' He looked at Idate from the corner of his eye. 'And even if a relationship started without, I'm sure Idate would have tried something by now, right?' He began to twiddle his thumbs. 'And even if we were together, he has to leave soon, and long distance relationships are hard to keep up, aren't they? I think they are, but maybe not… I don't know!'

Idate, finally becoming aware of the inner turmoil Naruto was going through asked what was wrong.

"GAH! Everything's wrong! I don't know what's up and what's down anymore!"

"… Okay then, maybe you could be a little more specific?" "Are we in a relationship or not." Idate looked confused for a moment before breaking out into a smile. "We are." "Really?" "Yes." "Are you sure?" "Positive." "Prove it."

Idate took Naruto's face in his hands and kissed him softly for what seemed like forever, breaking away with a larger smile then before.

"Did you like that?" "Yes." "Then we are definitely in a relationship."

'Really? I didn't think it worked like that.' But Naruto, heedless of his own thoughts scooted closer to Idate and rested his head on the other boys shoulder.

'This can work, it doesn't matter if he has to leave soon, long distance relationships can definitely work.'


	26. SakonNaru

Sorry I'm a couple days late, but my computer was on during a thunder storm (Smart eh?) and my modem got friiiiiiied. So I didn't have internet until we got a new one, therefore I couldn't update. So anyways GOMEN! Please forgive this horrible person who is stupid enough to have a computer on even though they know a storm's going on outside!

Warnings: AU

Pairing: Sakon/Naru

Summery: You always bully the one you like, right? Well before high school Naruto was always bullied by Sakon and his 'gang', and now he's in grade nine and it seems Sakon hasn't forgotten him.

Genre: Humor, romance (very little)

Rating: M-15 for some suggestive material

""-speech

''-thoughts

Ah, his first day of high school, once again he was at the bottom of the food chain. Naruto sighed wearily, he had come early to find his homeroom and now he had nothing to do.

''A new start,' Iruka says, 'a chance to make new friends.' Yeah right, all the bastards from the academy are going to be here, including them." Naruto shuddered, Sadistic, Sardonic, Sarcastic and Snide, otherwise known as S-4, they would be in grade eleven now and Naruto really doubted that Sakon would forget his favorite punching bag from two years ago.

Naruto sighed again as he sat at the bottom of the staircase in the main hall. 'Maybe I can go through the next two years without being noticed by them.'

Tayuya angrily entered the school building, damn her goody goody mother to hell and back! Resetting her alarm clock to be thirty minutes early, just so she wouldn't be late. 'Fuck this!' She stomped down the hallway, almost missing the orange clad teen slumped on the stairs, almost, but it was absolutely impossible to miss that shade of orange.

A smirk slowly stretched over her face. 'So the little blondie is actually coming to this school? Sakon'll love to hear this.' She slipped into a nearby hallway, aforementioned blonde never noticing the redheaded girl in the shadows.

"Oi, Sakon." It was the beginning of second period now, English, the only period all of 'S-4' had together, they all sat in the back while the teacher lectured. Tayuya held back her smirk as the male turned around to look at her. "What?" He asked lowly, narrowing his eyes. "You'll never guess who I saw this morning." None of the males sitting around her seemd to be paying much attention, but that would all change with what she said next.

"Blondie's here."

Several things happened at that moment. Kidomaru began snickering, trying to cover the noise with his hand, Jirobuya blinked in confusion and whispered, "I thought he would have gone to a different high school.", and Sakon froze, eyes widening slightly. There was only one kid that Tayuya had ever called Blondie, Uzumaki Naruto.

The kid had arrived at Midori Public School in grade five, he was immediately an outcast, none of the pre-formed groups would take the kid under their wing. He was the perfect target, with no friends and no teachers on his side S-4 terrorized the kid each and every day. Sakon loved seeing the look of fear in his eyes, it made them such a vibrant blue.

Bat all good things had to come to an end and Sakon swore blondie looked happier on the last day of school when S-4 graduated than he had in the two years he knew him. It made him angry that the boy seemed to be so happy without him, so at the end of the day without the rest of S-4 he shoved the boy up against a locker and simply said. "See you in two years at Ayatsuri High, Blondie."

He was actually quite pleased that the blonde was here, he thought the boy would have had his guardian send him someplace else.

"So Blondie's here, huh?" Tayuya nodded and Sakon smiled. "This is gonna be fun."

Ah, the joy of half days. Naruto smiled a bit, his last period had been gym, so as everyone else rushed to get changed and go home Naruto took his time, Iruka probably wouldn't get home by the time he got there anyways.

Once Naruto had changed into his favorite outfit, faded jeans and a neon orange t-shirt, he stepped outside the locker room and immediately wished he hadn't.

"Hey Blondie, I didn't think I'd find you so soon." The silvery-purple hair, the black eyes, the unmistakable green lipstick, there Sakon stood in all his glory. Naruto nervously looked around for any other S-4 members, but seeing only Sakon did nothing to ease his fear. 'He was looking for me? Oh damn…'

Apparently sick of Naruto's silence Sakon took a step forward, pleased to see the boy's eyes widen and turn that irresistible shade of blue.

"I missed you, there are hardly any kids here short enough to cram into a locker." Naruto's eyes narrowed and he clenched his fists. "Honestly, I think you haven't grown at all in two years." An odd growling sound was pushed up from Naruto's vocal chords. "I'm serious! You hardly come up to my shoulder Blondie, haven't you hit puberty yet?"

With a small roar Naruto leapt forward, fist flying towards Sakon's face, but all momentum stopped as Sakon grabbed his oncoming fist and gave Naruto a small smirk before Naruto suddenly found himself face fist on the ground, both his hands held behind his back and Sakon with one knee beside his body and one on the small of his back to keep him from moving.

"Aww, did I make you angry Blondie? You know I don't like it when you're mad at me, you're so much prettier when you're afraid."

Naruto was mumbling under his breath, not even bothering to try and escape, he knew from previous experience how impossible it was.

"What was that Blondie? I couldn't hear you." "I said you sound like a homosexual when you say stuff… Like… That…" Naruto felt himself being rolled onto his back as Sakon straddled his waist, his eyes widened when Sakon leaned down, the other boy's silent laughter brushing against his face.

"I sound like I'm gay, do I Blondie? I'll have you know it's all your fault." Sakon's face loomed closer and Naruto could feel himself trembling. "You're so beautiful when your afraid." Their lips lightly brushed together and Naruto was sure that he was going to die of embarrassment. "And even when you're not afraid," With each word he spoke Sakon's lips gently collided with Naruto's. "You're still prettier than any girl I know, Blondie."

And then Sakon was gone and Naruto stared up at the gym ceiling, touching his lips lightly all the while thinking. 'What the fuck was that about?'

It had been two weeks since what Naruto called the Sakon-is-a-crazy-mofo-who-sexually-harasses-minors-dattebayo incident, and so far he hadn't been confronted by any S-4 members. Sure they'd seen each other in the hallways, but there were always to many 'witnesses' around. What freaked Naruto out the most was when he and Sakon would catch each other's eyes in the hall. A smirk would slowly spread over green lips and Naruto saw something in those deep black eyes that he didn't want to put a name to.

And it was just his rotten luck that last period Sakon had a teacher who didn't care if you showed up as long as you did the work, and his own gym teacher didn't care if there were spectators present. He felt Sakon's eyes on him more then once, and it both disturbed and excited him for reasons he couldn't put a finger on.

They were playing soccer today, and as usual Naruto was the last person to be picked for a team, and as usual he felt Sakon was watching him, and as usual he helt like he wanted to run and hide. And then he felt pain.

He has been appointed goalie since no one else wanted to be, and he hadn't noticed the stealthy approach of someone from the other team, hadn't notice them kick the ball, and hadn't noticed the object flying towards his face until it hit and knocked him to the floor where he laid and didn't bother getting up. He was more dazed then hurt, but if he polished up his acting skills a bit, then maybe he could sit on the sidelines the rest of the period. The opposite side of Sakon of course.

He was vaguely aware of someone saying they'd take him to the nurse's office and being picked up by a pair of strong arms and by the time he had bothered to open his eyes and saw a pair of green lips, they were already outside the school grounds. Naruto immediately began struggling. "Dammit let me go." Sakon let out a chuckle that made Naruto shiver and cease his struggling. "Blondie, is that any way to talk to the person who freed you from gym? Besides, you've been a bad boy these last couple of weeks, teasing me with that sweaty little body of yours." "I'm not teasing anybody, and just where the hell are you taking me!" Sakon paused and looked down at Naruto with a small smile. "To my house of ourse."

It took a moment for Naruto to process what he'd said, factor in Sakon's seeming attraction to him, and make a small list of the reasons why Sakon would want to bring him to his house. He then blushed and immediately began struggling again.

Apparently an armful of wriggling Naruto was a bit too much for Sakon to handle so he let the boy out of his arms but managed to keep a firm grip on Naruto's left wrist.

"Now now Blondie I'm not going to do anything…" His eyes swept over Naruto's form. "Inappropriate. I just want to talk to you. And if you don't come with me now, I can always get you alone sooner or later, Blondie." Naruto sighed wearily, knowing what Sakon said was true.

"Fine, but if you want to talk to me quit calling me Blondie." A smile spread across Sakon's lips. "Then what should I call you? Muffin? Sugar? Sweetheart? Lover? Babe? Ang-" "NARUTO! Just call me Naruto." "Whatever you say Naru-chan."

Naruto groaned as he was dragged away by Sakon, silently pondering if he should have kept going by 'Blondie.'

It was only a few short minutes to walk up to Sakon's house and Naruto felt his eyebrows twitch as the other boy dragged him up to the front door. The front yard was completely engulfed in flowers, it was a huge freakin' garden. 'For some reason I pictured him living in a shabby apartment with the others.' His eyes glanced over to a marble bird bath and his eyebrows twitched some more.

'I sincerely hope that Sakon takes no part in the creation and caring of this garden.' Naruto shuddered amd Sakon turned around, grin spreading across his lips. "Don't worry, this is my mom's garden." 'How did he-' "If you think this is bad, you should see the backyard, it's like my mom is trying to re-create Eden back there." He said as he slammed the door open and dragged Naruto past the spotless living room, up the wooden stairs, down a hallway lined with pictures and into the room at the end of the hallway.

"… Woah…" "Great isn't it? I made my parents give me the mater bedroom."

The room was large with dark red walls that were covered in band posters. It was sparsely furnished with only a desk and a chair, which were both covered in dirty clothes and magazines, and a large bed that was up against the left wall, covered in black sheets.

'I'm in Sakon's bedroom, what's wrong with this picture?' He thought sarcastically rolling his eyes heavenward. "So then, what do you want to talk about?" Naruto asked impatiently, his foot tapping against the floor and his arms crossed securely over his chest. Sakon stepped towards him, placing his hands securely on Naruto's shoulders.

"Well Naru-chan," He began lowly, "We could talk about many things, how I would like to reconcile for my previous actions, how I firmly believe that you haven't grown an inch in the past two years or-" Naruto suddenly found himself pinned up against Sakon's chest, the other's arms like steel bands around him. "We could talk about how I want to throw you onto my bed and have my wicked, wicked way with you." "NANI!" Naruto began struggling, but it was no use, Sakon was far stronger than him. 'Dammit! I knew I shouldn't have come here!'

"Now now Naru-chan, don't worry." Sakon whispered in his ear and Naruto shuddered. "Why wouldn't I worry after hearing _that_?" He demanded and Sakon chuckled. "I told you we were just going to talk Naru-chan, why would I lie to you?" Naruto glared up at him, trying to mask his fear with anger. "You're afraid Naru-chan, I can tell because of your eyes."

Sakon began walking slowly towards the bed and Naruto swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry as Sakon sat down, gingerly placing Naruto on his lap, securing his arms around the boy's waist and resting his chin on the blonde's shoulder.

"So then, how about we talk about the last topic, hmmm?" Naruto shivered as he felt the warm breath across his neck, squirming and shifting in an attempt to get more comfortable. He immediately stopped when he heard Sakon moan and felt the arms around him tighten. 'Oh shit! What did I do?' He flushed when he felt something press up against him.

"Uh, Naru-chan that's not nice. I promise not to do anything fun with you and then you torture me with your temptations."

Naruto snorted, blush still in place. "You deserve to be tortured for the hall you made me go through those two years!" "I don't suppose saying sorry will make you change your mind?" "No! Now let me go!" "Why would I want to do that?" Sakon purred and Naruto shivered, an unfamiliar heat shooting through his body.

"If you only want sex, I'm sure you can get it from someone else, besides, if you keep me here…" He purposely ground himself against Sakon's erection, grinning at the gasp his action drew from the other boy. "I'll only torture you."

He tried to get up, thinking he had proved his point, but Sakon's arms kept him in place. Naruto was beginning to get angry. "Let me go Sakon!"

Sakon's heavy breathing seemed eerily loud next to his ear. "Oh, I think not Naru-chan." "B-But I'm too young to have sex! And I don't like guys!" Sakon chuckled. "I never said we were going to have sex, and you were the one teasing me. You're lucky I have the self control that I do." Naruto snorted. 'Liar.' "Now then Naru-chan, let's talk." "About what, your sexual fantasies involving me pinned against the lockers, eyes glazed over with lust and pleading for what only you can give me?"

He had said it with as much sarcasm as he could muster; a triumphant smirk appeared on his face until: "Yes, how did you know?"

By some work of God Naruto was able to free himself of Sakon's grip and dash out of the house, his mind reeling. 'Why, why couldn't he just be like the old Sakon and beat me up and shove me into lockers? Why can't he hate me like he used to!'

Several weeks had passed and Naruto found that he had become scared of his own shadow, then came October, his birthday and coincidentally a note from Sakon to meet him at his house so that he could give Naruto a 'present,' ha, as if, he got enough of Sakon everyday when his dark eyes watched his every move in gym. Christmas vacation passed, along with another note saying the first and soon enough second semester had started, no more gym, no more Sakon.

Oddly enough, he didn't see Sakon in the hall much, but did he ever catch sight of the other three. Everyday Tayuya glared at him from across the hall, her fists clenching and unclenching, usually Kidomaru or Jirobuya were there to escort her away, but whenever they weren't present, she'd just stand there, glaring daggers. Naruto slowly became less afraid of Sakon molesting him and more afraid of Tayuya beating the shit out of him.

Thankfully the school year came to a close and he was safe for two months. Or at least, that was what he had thought.

One day in the middle of summer when he had been quite content with laying in his cool room doing nothing Iruka had burst in, announcing that there were three of his friends waiting for him outside. Naturally Naruto was curious about these 'friends' and went to open the door, opening it slowly, half hiding behind it only to see. Nothing.

He stood there a moment, wondering if this was some sort of trick to get him out of bed. But when he turned to go inside a small but powerful hand clamped around his wrist. 'Oh damn.'

He knew this grip, he knew those deceiving looking hands.

"Oi Blondie, you're going to come with us and have a little 'chat', or we're going to fuck you up." Naruto turned a little, fake smile plastered on his face. "Hai, ma'am." He knew better than to talk back to Tayuya, especially when a look that could kill was spread across her face. 'I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"KAWAII!"

Apparently not.

They had gone over to Tayuya's house, Naruto supposed it was so bystanders wouldn't try to save him. They had entered the horribly suburban home (It even had a white picket fence!) and Naruto was about to be dragged up the stairs when a woman started coming down looking exactly like Tayuya, well, if Tayuya ever smiled that is. She'd taken one look at him, screamed 'kawaii' and then ran down the stairs to tackle him.

Now he wasn't quite sure who he feared more, Tayuya, her mother, or Sakon… Tayuya, definitely Tayuya.

He was currently sitting on the floor of the redheaded girl's room fidgeting uncomfortably under her heated gaze, hell even the other two weren't there he'd still be as intimidated.

"Alright, let's get down to business…" She began in her dangerous tone of voice. "Instead of helping us terrorize kids, Sakon's telling us not to bother them, instead of shooting hoops with us, Sakon sits in his room all day, instead of telling us what's wrong, he just insists that he doesn't feel good. Now, whose fault do you think this is?" "M-Mine?" Tayuya smirked. "Good boy. Now what are you going to do to rectify this?" "… Apologize?" Tayuya clapped her hands together in mock excitement. "I'm glad you agree. How about we go over to Sakon's now?" It was a demand, but Naruto knew even if it was a question he'd agree to it, he enjoyed life too much to disagree with her. So he slowly shuffled behind Tayuya, follwed by Kidomaru and Jirobuya and silently despaired to himself as he walked along a familiar street and past familiar houses. 'This isn't good. Dattebayo!'

They stopped in front of Sakon's house and Naruto inwardly shuddered as Tayuya stepped aside and pointed to the path behind her. "We're going to wait out here for ten minutes to make sure you don't just go in and out, and I swear to God if I come here tomorrow and Sakon's still in his little mood swing..." She cracked her knuckles and Naruto practically flew up the path.

'I can't just hide out inside his house for eleven minutes, he might come out of his room and see me! And if I don't at least try to get Sakon back to his normal self I'll get pummeled!' He thought as he ran up to Sakon's front door and threw it open, leaping inside the house and slamming to door shut behind him.

'So I'll just have to go up there, tell him to stop sulking and keep out of his reach.'

He bounded up the stairs, went down the picture lined hallway and burst through Sakon's bedroom door. Aforementioned boy was laying face down on his bed, obviously sulking.

"I already told you Tayuya-" Naruto stiffened, feeling slightly insulted. "I'm not feeling well. And no, you don't have to beat anyone up for me. Close the door on your way out." "Oh trust me, I'd leave you alone if I could, but sadly if I go now I'm going to regret it while I'm being killed tomorrow." Wide black eyes peered in Naruto direction before going back to smothering themselves in the pillow.

"Tayuya made you come here?" "Yeah, well, the others were there, but it was pretty much just her forcing me here, you know how she is." Sakon snuggled under the sheets more and Naruto sweatdropped. 'Was he even listening to what I said?'

"You don't have to be here if you don't want to you know. To tell the truth it would be better if you leave, I seem to be having flashbacks of the last time you were in my room."

Naruto took a courageous step forward, followed by another, then another until he was looming over Sakon's still form. "Look Sakon, I don't know why me not liking you has gotten you so upset. Hell, I don't even know why you like me now since you seemed to absolutely hate me only a couple of years ago-" "That's not true, I didn't hate you, I just liked picking on you." "Whatever, the point is I have every right to just walk away right now and get a restraining order or something, but if Tayuya comes around tomorrow and finds out I didn't apologize, goodbye cruel word. So I'm sorry that you're being an idiot about this, there." 'Now I only need to hang around here for a couple more minutes."

"That wasn't much of an apology you know. And I have feelings to-" Naruto snorted at this and Sakon rolled himself over, glaring up at the younger boy. "Just because I may have made your life hell for a couple of years doesn't mean we can't be in a relationship." "It does in my book." "Well it doesn't in mine, besides, although I'm not going to try shoving you into lockers or anything like that anymore, I can still manipulate situations involving us to my benefit." Naruto took a cautious step back as Sakon rose from the bed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" "It means that if Tayuya comes around tomorrow, it's all up to me on whether or not you'll be beaten to a bloody pulp by her. I control your fate." Sakon smirked triumphantly and Naruto angrily clenched his fists. 'Bastard, no matter how much he likes me he's always a bastard to me.'

It was a hard decision, get beaten up by Tayuya, or do _whatever_ Sakon wanted him to do, which could really be a lot of things he really _didn't_ want to do. He was about to choose option number one when Sakon, worried by the thought provoking silence, spoke up.

"When Tayuya visits tomorrow I promise I'll be as bright and cheery as I usually am if…" "If?" "If you let me kiss you."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly, that wasn't too bad of a deal. 'My first kiss isn't too important anyways; it'll probably be nice to honestly say that I've been kissed before, I just won't mention who it was by. And one kiss is definitely better than facing Tayuya tomorrow.' He nodded his head solemnly. "I'll do it."

Sakon practically skipped forward, grinning all the while. "Oh come on, you don't have to act as though you're signing away your soul, you're lucky I only asked for a kiss. But I know anything more would probably be crossing the line and then you'd go let yourself beat up." He shook his head in mock disappointment. "Honestly, how stubborn." "Sakon, just shut up and kiss me already." Sakon's grin widened and he pulled Naruto close, his hot breath puffing gently across Naruto's face. "Well, if you insist."

As soon as those words were out of his mouth Sakon's lips were on Naruto's like a storm in a desert: harsh, demanding and conquering. His arms pressed Naruto against him while his tongue pried open Naruto's lips and rubbed along Naruto's small pink tongue, trying to persuade him to join in.

Meanwhile Naruto breathed heavily through his nose, his hands unwillingly clamping down harder on Sakon's shoulders. When Sakon had said kiss, he had thought of a little peck on the mouth, this wasn't a kiss, this was snogging! (British for making out.) In fact, he was very tempted to bite down on Sakon's unwelcome tongue, and would have if he didn't remember exactly why he was letting this happen to him.

Sakon broke apart for air and Naruto foolishly thought it was over, but after what seemed like half a second later Sakon's lips were on his again, even more fierce and passionate than before. Naruto couldn't help but be taken in by the heat of the moment and began to shyly kiss back. 'It's just so I can actually take part in my first kiss.' He told himself firmly, but whether or not he was lying to himself didn't matter to Sakon who took Naruto's gentle lips brushing against his as a positive sign.

The second time Sakon broke away from Naruto's lips he couldn't help but think. 'Third time's the charm.' Before once again claiming Naruto's lips.

Now, Naruto certainly wasn't going to admit it, but Sakon kissing him did feely awfully good and he was about to press his lips harder against Sakon's, when common sense finally came crashing down on him.

He broke away reluctantly, already missing the feeling of Sakon's lips on his, he quickly stomped that longing feeling out of existence and backed away from Sakon slowly.

"There, you've had your kiss, you'd better hold up your end of the deal." Naruto said before high tailing out of there.

Sakon stood in the center of his room, smiling. 'You started kissing back, it doesn't matter what you say, I know you liked it.'

'BAKA! Bakabakabakabaka! Why did you start kissing him back, he made your life hell, remember!' Naruto was repeatedly punching the pillows on his bed, gritting his teeth in frustration. 'Who cares if it felt good! It's Sakon! You can't like him!' He gave one final punch before flopping onto the bed with a sigh. 'But still, I kind of liked being kissed by him.'

Summer vacation faded away far too quickly and before Naruto could even begin mentally preparing himself for the new school year he was in grade ten. And his first subject of the day was math.

Who the hell decided that it would be okay for kids to attempt to learn math the first thing in the morning! Math wasn't one of his strong points and he would be even worse at it now.

Then he had gym right before lunch, English after lunch and then his final class was geography.

This semester was going to suck.

But on the plus side Sakon must have had an important class second period, because he never came to watch Naruto, in fact, Naruto hardly ever saw any of S-4.

'I guess they're putting the petal to the metal so that they can get into a good collage.'

It was the end of the day on the Friday of the second week of school, Naruto looked down at his first math test, seven out of thirty, not good.

"My my Naru-chan, your guardian's going to be so disappointed in you." Naruto leapt forward, clutching at his pounding heart. 'Holy fuck!' He angrily glared at the person behind him. "Don't sneak up on people! And don't look at my marks." He held the paper close to his chest and did his best to look intimidating.

Too bad Sakon seemed to just think he looked cute when he was trying to be angry.

"You know Naru-chan, I'm pretty good with math, so if you need any help-" "NO! No, I'm fine and dandy _thank you very much_." "Are you sure? That's a twenty three percent, not a very good way to start off the year."

Naruto had a problem, either not accept any help from Sakon and keep doing bad, cause he hated asking for help in the first place. Or accept Sakon's help, which would probably lead to Sakon wanting to do… _Stuff_ with him at their 'study session.'

Naruto wasn't sure he could take anymore _stuff_ from Sakon without wanting to reciprocate said _stuff_. In other words, if Sakon started kissing him again, he was pretty sure he'd kiss back.

But in the end, he figured getting together to study with Sakon was better then facing an angry Iruka. Iruka hated it when he failed tests and would make him look over his notes for hours each time he brought home a bad mark.

"YOSH! Let's go over to your house right now!" "N-Now?" "Yep!"

Naruto grabbed Sakon's hand and lead the way, a small blush painting his cheeks. 'This is going to backfire, I know it's going to backfire!'

"And since x-3 and y4 then x + (y squared) is 253. Understand yet?" "… If I said no, what would you do?" "…" "… What? I'm not good with math!"

Naruto chewed on the end of his pencil vigorously as he stared down at his math text book. "Can't you just do my homework for me?" "No." "Please?" "No, if you don't learn anything you'll do even worse on your next test."

Naruto hated math with a passion, he was even considering bribing Sakon to do his homework for him. But he didn't think he was that desperate, yet.

Sakon held back a smile when he saw Naruto's eyes go unfocused. 'I'll have to motivate him somehow… I got it!' "Oi Naru-chan, wake up." The blonde glared at him. "I wasn't asleep." "Mmmm-hmmmm. If you finish the rest of your homework, I'll give you presents." Naruto blinked. "Presents?" "Yes, the presents I got you for your birthday and Christmas last year, they're right over here…" Sakon stood up and went to his closet, rummaging around a little before taking out two messily wrapped packages.

Naruto's eyes went wide for a moment. "Wow! You really did get me presents, when I was looking at your notes I thought by 'present' you meant something sexual."

Sakon grinned and winked at him. "Maybe I just got you presents so you'd let me do something sexual with you."

Naruto sweat dropped. "You do know that you almost made it to complete redemption before you made that comment, right?" "Aw, but at least I'm being truthful. Honesty is the best policy you know." "You're a delinquent, you shouldn't talk about honesty." Sakon knocked Naruto in the back on his head. "OW!" "I am not a delinquent, just a bully, the two are completely different." "A bully is a bully who's being bullied by a bully who's being bullied by a bully who's being bullied by another bully who's being bullied by another bully who's being bullied by another bully who's being bullied by the first bully."

"… Just open your presents." "SURE!" He ripped open the first package to find a… Skimpy swimsuit.

"AHH! WHAT THE HELL? MY EYES, THEY BURN WITH THE FIRE OF ONE THOUSAND WHITE HOT SUNS!"

"Really? I didn't think it was too bad of a gift." "AND MY TEMPER BURNS WITH THE FIRE OF TEN THOUSAND WHITE HOT SUNS!"

"Okay, okay, open the second gift, I'm sure you'll like it!" Naruto fearfully began opening the second package and found… The Rurouni Kenshin box set.

"Whoa… That's friggin' AWESOME!" "Ha! I knew you'd like it. Now you have to finish your homework."

Naruto stopped mid-happy dance. 'Damn.' "Can't we just, you know, not? My teacher doesn't check my homework anyways." Sakon rolled his eyes heavenward. "Only if you promise to come here early tomorrow morning-" "Early on a SATURDAY?" "And only if you give me a kiss before you leave." Sakon closed his eyes, a triumphant smirk on his face. Eyes snapping back open when he felt a warm, strong pressure against his lips.

"See you tomorrow Saaakooooon." Naruto winked and strutted out of the room, strategically leaving behind the bathing suit he received.

'He kissed me of his own violation. All right, tomorrow, he's mine.'

'I can't believe I kissed him. Oh well, I'm sure tomorrow will be even more risqué.'

It was.


	27. KimiNaru

Sorry I'm a couple days late, but my computer was on during a thunder storm (Smart eh?) and my modem got friiiiiiied. So I didn't have internet until we got a new one, therefore I couldn't update. So anyways GOMEN! Please forgive this horrible person who is stupid enough to have a computer on even though they know a storm's going on outside!

Warnings: Spoiler, non-cannon-ish.

Pairing: Kimimaro/Naru

Summery: Naruto's strongest technique isn't Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Rasengan or Kuchiyose no Jutsu, but rather, a technique where he can take and opponent down with a single wink. Too bad it doesn't work too well this time.

Genre: Humor, you may see romance if you squint hard enough.

Rating: PG-13

""-speech

''-thoughts

'No way! How can he take out all my shadow clones so quickly!' Naruto bit his lip and growled as he surveyed the older boy before him, using the bones he took from his body as swords to destroy the massive amount of shadow clones. 'I can't believe he can use his bones as weapons! I can't keep doing Kage Bunshin no Jutsu forever.' He took a nervous step back as the last five of his clones disappeared in multiple puffs of smoke. 'This guy's 'dances' are really powerful, but I have to beat him! I have to get to Sasuke! I have to use that technique, it's the only one that could possibly work in this situation!'

He lifted his hands together to form a seal, his face a mask of utter concentration, and then his eyes snapped open.

"Orioke no Jutsu!"

Green eyes widened considerably as a beautiful-no, gorgeous blonde girl attached herself to him, her naked body feeling unnaturally warm on top of his.

'Wha-what is this feeling? I've only ever felt like this when I'm close to Orochimaru-sama.' His heart was beating so fast he thought he'd die right then.

"Kimimaro-sama, let's stop fighting, onegai?"

It could be because the only female he'd ever really been around was Tayuya, who wasn't the sweetest chocolate in the box, but when he saw those wide blue eyes staring up at him, full of unshed tears, Kimimaro was sure that this was the only girl he could ever be happy with.

It really didn't matter if she was really a guy; he was sure that the Naruto kid could easily keep up the illusion for most of the rest of his life.

He wrapped his arms around the pigtailed girl and held her tight to his chest.

Meanwhile, Naruto was vaguely wondering why Kimimaro hadn't bled away half of his blood, and why the other boy was hugging him. 'I don't get it! What's wrong with this guy? Anyways, I have to defeat him somehow and go save Sasuke!' Naruto squirmed, trying to get out of Kimimaro's hug in a not to obvious way, it wasn't working.

"Ano, Kimimaro-sama, could you let me go, I have some things to take care of." "No." Naruto frowned. 'Well if he's going to be like _that_.' In a puff of smoke he was back to his original self and he deftly pushed Kimimaro away from him.

"Look, I don't have time for this, so either fight me and let me pass once I've beaten you or let me pass right now!" When the fair boy didn't respond Naruto huffed angrily and in a flash rushed past him. 'Don't worry Sasuke, I'm going to bring your stubborn ass back to Konoha whether you want to or not.'

Kimimaro stood in the open area, fingers twitching. 'She's… Gone?'

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

It had been a week since Kakashi had dragged an unconscious Sasuke and Naruto back to the country of the leaf, and both boys were still recovering, although neither seemed to want to stay in the hospital. Sasuke would usually just go train on the roof but Naruto had actually snuck out a few times to get some ramen, and in the end Shizune had decided it would be a lot less troublesome if they allowed him to go home a little ahead of schedule.

Naruto wouldn't have wanted to go home if he knew what was waiting for him.

"NANI?"

His apartment was absolutely spotless! That definitely wasn't how he had left it! And there were pictures all over the place of…

"KIMIMARO?" A hand clamped down on his shoulder. "You called, dearest?" Naruto gripped the hand and quickly flipped the white haired boy over his shoulder. Kimimaro kept hold of his wrist and blinked up at him from his place on the floor. "Now that wasn't a very nice thing to do, but…" With a small tug on his captured wrist Naruto was sent crashing down beside Kimimaro.

"Itaiiii…" Naruto rubbed his horribly abused hip and glared at the boy beside him. "Why the hell are you here, and what the fuck did you do to my apartment?" "Before I tell you that, you have to change into the girl."

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and glared. "Why?" "Just do it." "No." "If you don't I'll find that pink haired girl you always talk to and pierce her heart with my spinal cord." "W-What? Why would you do something like that to Sakura-chan?" "I won't if you do as I say." "Fine fine." Naruto hastily picked himself up off the ground and threw Kimimaro a dirty look.

"Henge!"

Two beautifully round, blue eyes narrowed when the smoke faded away. "What the hell are you doing teme?" 'He'd better not be doing what I think he's doing, because that's just way too fucked up for me to deal with right now.'

"Naruto, we may be enemies, we may have fought each other in the past, but I would like to put that all behind us in this moment as you answer my inane question: will you marry me?"

Naruto did the only thing he really could do: he feinted.

'It was all a dream. Only a dream. Just a dream. Kimimaro doesn't know where you live. He isn't in your house right now. He isn't sitting at the foot of the bed, smirking because he knows that I'm awake and I'm just pretending to be asleep because-'

"Hey, I know you're awake." '… Damn.' Blue eyes peeked out curiously from behind thick eyelashes, widening considerably when they saw two lumps that shouldn't have been there anymore. "_Kimimaro_, _what_ did you _do_?"

Kimimaro blinked, almost looking innocent, _almost_. He was smirking rather evilly after all. "Who me? I just made it so that you'd stay in your female form for a bit longer than normal, like, oh I don't know, forever." "WHAT!" "But let's not talk about that-" A genuine smile crept over Kimimaro's lips. "I'd much rather talk about… Marriage."

Naruto face faulted. "Uh, dude, in case you haven't noticed, not only am I really a guy, but I'm also thirteen, I'm too young to get married." Kimimaro clenched his fists tightly. "Age means nothing when you're in love! Why, look at the infatuation I've had with Orochimaru for all these years, and he's thirty five years older than I am!" Naruto slowly began backing away. "Dude, that's fucked up, and who's in love anyways, certainly not me." Tears sprung forth in Kimimaro's eyes and Naruto sweat dropped.

"But I've only just found you, of course you are not yet in love with me as I am with you, but I'm sure, that soon so long as I nurture our sweet relationship-" "No. Just no." "That someday you too will feel as I do-" "Umm, I'm trying to protest here." "Ever since I first saw you like you are now, I knew you were the girl for me-" "But I'm really a GUY!" "And now that we are together, not even Orochimaru could tear us apart!" Kimimaro glomped onto Naruto, who was struggling to breathe under Kimimaro's bone crushing hold. "I already told you… This wouldn't work out." "NO! With the power of love any obstacle can be demolished! Drink milk love life!" "… What?" "Nothing! Ehehehe…"

Naruto squirmed uncomfortably in the bear hug, dammit his breasts _really_ hurt from being crushed against Kimimaro's chest! 'And I'm all unbalanced in this form, I can't fight properly like this, I'm taller than normal with more weight in the front, I'll trip over or something!' He glared up at the suspiciously calm looking Kimimaro, closed eyes, even breathing. 'He had better not have gone to sleep on top of me, or there will be hell to pay!… Once I get back to normal, I'm sure someone can change me back!'

Unfortunately, everyone he asked to help him on this little endeavor ended up laughing, or just told him he looked batter this way, the perverts! And he wasn't wrong about being unbalanced either, he'd turned into such a klutz! And whenever he managed to trip over, knock into or bump against something Kimimaro always just _happened_ to be nearby, jumping in before Naruto could actually hit the ground.

Now Naruto kind of knew how Sasuke felt about all his fan girls, extremely annoyed. Of course Kimimaro didn't admit to stalking him around, just like he didn't admit to anyone that he really worked for Orochimaru.

When confronted about this, Kimimaro simply said that due to some reason, Orochimaru would have believed that he'd have died in their confrontation, so he really didn't work for Orochimaru anymore, since the older man definitely wouldn't have approved of their relationship. And of course, Naruto would reply with "What relationship?" and then Kimimaro would go into one of his freaky love rants. And Naruto, not wanting to go listen to anymore freaky love rants, decided to just go along with whatever Kimimaro said, unfortunately this meant that Kimimaro thought Naruto was getting used to him.

Which he most definitely was not!

Anyways, a definite turning point in their 'relationship' was one morning, a couple of weeks after Kimimaro had barged into his life, when Naruto had seen the green eyed boy cough up blood. He was naturally worried and tried to drag Kimimaro to the hospital, the other boy said it was useless, it was to late to be helped…

And then he said that the only reason he thought he lived as long as he was, was because the love in his heart wouldn't let him die.

Now then, Naruto usually didn't let things told to him by subordinates of evil beings tug at his heart strings, but hell! Kimimaro had said it so sincerely that Naruto was sure he was going to start sobbing right there in the middle of the street.

Man, he really was starting to act more girly… So now he had a girly personality along with girly clothes…

Kimimaro would pay dearly for this… Maybe… He was really just too used to the guy hanging all over him now to hurt him, and he'd probably feel really, really bad if he ever hurt him, since the other boy was so sure that they were in love. It just wouldn't be right to make him see the truth…

Naruto woke up one morning to the sound of muffled coughing and sighed. 'He's coughing a lot more lately, does he really think I don't notice?' He crept out of his room in his black, female pajamas and pressed his ear up against the door of the bathroom. 'If you really are doomed to die, then don't you want to do it painlessly? It would be a lot easier on you if you went to a doctor's, even if it's just to help with the pain and coughing.' Naruto bit his plump bottom lip relentlessly. 'And I've seen your hands after you cough, covered in blood, how much longer do you have here, and why are you wasting it with me?'

The next day Kimimaro had to be hospitalized after a rather serious coughing fit, he'd been injected with some clear liquid that Naruto couldn't remember the name of, he had dozed off after the injection and Naruto had paced around the hospital room with worry.

'The doctors said that his lungs can't take much more and neither can the rest of his body. He might not wake up.' His eyes drifted over the Kimimaro's still form, and couldn't help but get locked on his peaceful expression.

'I wonder if he's dreaming.'

Green eyes flew open and Naruto jumped back a bit, pressing a hand to his chest. "God, that was freaky!" Kimimaro looked over at Naruto wearily, his eyes questioning.

"Were you watching over me?" Naruto nodded, taking a step forward, Kimimaro's voice sounded so weak.

"I'm glad that I could spend my last moments with you, Naruto." "Now now, no need to get all dramatic about this, I'm sure you'll be fine." Naruto knelt down beside Kimimaro and held onto the other boy's cold hand.

Kimimaro took in an unsteady breath, his eyes slowly closing until they were almost completely shut. "Naruto, can I ask you a favor?" "Sure, anything." Naruto leant in closer, almost positive he knew what the request would be.

"Could we… That is to say, may I…" Naruto pressed his lips against Kimimaro's and tightened his hold on the other boy's hand when he felt it go limp, then there was a puff of smoke around him as he returned to normal.

He broke away from the prone form in the hospital bed and with one last squeeze on his hand walked out of the room.

'I hope that you can find your true love on the other side, Kimimaro.'


	28. FINAL POST OroNaru

Warnings: Well, if you don't know who Orochimaru is (cause if you know Orochimaru, you know what he wants to do) then I suggest you go to a fansite immediately and read up on him. Best. Villain. Ever.

Pairing: Oro/Naru

Summery: Maybe Orochimaru has another reason for hating Konoha, maybe one of the reasons he wishes to destroy the country of his birth, is all because of a little boy.

Genre: General, Paternal-type-love

Rating: PG

A/N: Hey, this is a big thanks to all who've read and reviewed this pile of one shots. If there were some fics where my characterization of someone was poorly done, or my plot did not seem adequate then I apologize for it immensely. I do hope that you, for the most part, enjoyed this collection and sincerely thank you for the encouragement you, the readers, have given me.

""-speech

''-thoughts

He had always carried a bit of a grudge against Sarutobi-sensei, choosing the student of Jiraiya to be the fourth Hokage instead of him, but that grudge had faded away when Arashi, the fourth Hokage had passed away.

He was sure if _he_ had become the fourth Hokage _he_ would have been able to take care of Kyuubi without having to sacrifice himself.

But he decided not to gloat during the time of mourning; it would be disadvantageous if the whole village hated him. They already distrusted him enough, and for good reasons too, not that he would let them know that.

To be completely truthful he only really began hating the country of his birth and the people of that country when the _whispers_ began.

Hushed voices were constantly talking in the shadows, whispering about whom to blame for the fourth dying, the destruction of the village, for everything.

An infant called Uzumaki Naruto, who was the host for the dreaded Kyuubi.

It at first started as a topic only the brave would talk about, and only in the company of trusted friends. But soon word got around and before to long Orochimaru could hear the outright hatred spewing from the uneducated mouths of inconsiderate people who hadn't stopped their self-righteous ranting long enough to consider that the baby they were cursing so violently just so happened to be their savior.

Orochimaru had caught sight of the infant on more than one occasion, and even though the rumors of the baby's evil hadn't affected his thoughts, he still couldn't believe how innocent the child looked with his wide, dazed blue eyes.

He was not a sentimental man, nor was he full of goodwill, but he wanted to protect the keeper of those innocent eyes, and did so on many occasions from _renegade ninjas_ who tried to hurt the child.

He had left Konoha not even a year after the fourth's demise, all his wishes to be Hokage gone. He would never bring himself to rule such thoughtless people who would dare to hate their hero. No, he would create his own country and become the Kage of that, and he would crush Konoha. Sarutobi-sensei for not defending the boy enough, the common villagers for speaking ill of the infant, the nins of the village for more than once trying to do away with the child…

Every once in a while he'd sneak into Konoha under the cover of night and check up on the growing boy. He'd feel oddly pained whenever he saw wet streaks on his scarred cheeks from the tears he had shed before sleep or in his dreams. And the pain in his chest only made him want to crush Konoha more, leaving nothing but ruins, dead bodies and destruction as he brought the child to a place where he wouldn't be treated like scum.

He supposed he felt like a fatherly presence, which in itself was a strange occurrence since he'd never really cared for anyone other than himself. But as the years passed and the young Naruto grew up, going into the Academy where he made no friends and cried about it each night, Orochimaru grew used to the paternal love he had for the boy.

He had once been an outcast as well for his strange looks, but he grew strong quickly and was suddenly surrounded by fake friendships and admirers. His only real friend had been Jiraiya. Naruto's only real friends were the Third, who was far to busy to dote on the boy, and his school teacher.

So he supposed that was why he wished to defend the boy with such vigor, he knew what it was liked to be hated for no good reason.

So for Naruto, a boy who did something wonderful and was hated for it, and perhaps a bit for himself, to claim revenge on the town that never understood him and to prove his power to everyone, Konoha would fall, and the only one standing unharmed at the end would be the reason for its destruction. A demon, a brat, a nuisance…

An innocent boy who was cursed by fate.


	29. FINAL POST ArashiNaru

Warnings: Well, in this fic we're just pretending that kids graduate the academy at 16, no spoilers that I know of and I'm pretty sure the Yondaime's name was Arashi…

Pairing: Arashi/Naru

Summery: Arashi did not die, but was instead placed in an age stopping coma, when he awakes sixteen years later he is astonished by the actions of the villagers towards their savior, and by the savior himself.

Genre: WAFF, humor

Rating: PG 13

A/N: Yo! This is just a big thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing. I'm sorry that if for some of these one-shots my portrayal of the characters was bad, or the storyline was unoriginal or dull, but I hope that you've enjoyed it overall.(As a side note, I know that many, many people think that Arashi is Naruto's father, hell, I used to think that. But if it was his father I think people would know, I mean, if his girlfriend/wife/significant other was pregnant, the baby due around the time Kyuubi attacked and suddenly there was an infant that just happened to look exactly like the fourth Hokage after the Kyuubi attack… I don't think the people of Konoha are dull enough not to put the pieces together.)

""-speech

''-thoughts

In a dark room where the only light provided was from a fuzzy computer screen, which made the green liquid in the IV glow eerily, a man slept. He had been in this state for many years, his body regaining it's energy little by little as he lay unconscious in a room where only three people knew of his existence, the Third Hokage, and two of the best medic nins in Konoha.

When Arashi, the Fourth Hokage had had almost died giving his soul the God of Death for the power to seal the Kyuubi, two brave Jounin had stood in the way of the Fourth's destruction.

Saicho and Daisuke Umino had sacrificed their lives and souls so that the Fourth would live on, the Arashi had already had far to much of his power taken to live on, or so many thought.

The villagers believed the Fourth had died, not knowing that he had been taken to an underground facility by the Third where a dozen medic nins poured together their power to seal Arashi in a chakra induced coma that froze his body's aging process and would slowly allow him to recover.

They hadn't expected it to take him so long to heal, and slowly the medic nins who knew of Arashi's existence died off until there were only three left, and the third, Tsunade, had long since given up on the Fourth ever waking up and had left.

And so day in and day out two of the three remaining medic nins took care of the sleeping Yondaime Hokage, waiting for the day where he would awaken and lead their country once more.

"Ano sa Ano sa Sakura-chan! How about you go on a date w-" "Can it Naruto! I have plans tonight!" The blonde pouted as the pink haired girl stalked off in the direction his other teammate had gone. This wasn't how it was supposed to go, Sakura was supposed to see him complete missions with grace and vigor and fall head over heels in love with him!

'Damn, I guess I'll just have to try harder tomorrow.' Naruto stalked off in the direction of his apartment, unsatisfied with the day's events. First a crappy mission, and now he had the whole rest of the day and had absolutely nothing to do. He had been pursuing Sakura actively since he was twelve years old and even now, four years later there were now fruits from his labor.

He had considered no longer going after her many times before, but it was really habit now, and he had to use his fading crush on Sakura to ignore his growing affections for… Others.

Hell, when he was fourteen he'd even had a bit of a growing crush on Kiba of all people! Thank God his crush on Sakura could easily make him forget the crushes on other around him.

Most of the 'others' being males in his class. Dear God it was horrible, he'd had crushes on most of the males in his class, including one fleeting crush on Iruka-sensei!

'If I loose my affections for Sakura-chan, I don't think I'll ever be able to find a female attractive again, and then I'll be a closeted homosexual instead of being a self-known Bi-sexual. And then I'm sure people would notice and connect everything and then-ARG! Hell! My life is hell!'

Meanwhile in a dark room with an eerie glow, blue eyes opened for the first time in sixteen years.

The next morning Naruto woke at his customary time, five minute before he was supposed to meet everyone at the bridge, but he figured this way he'd only have to wait for Kakashi for an hour or two, unlike early people who'd have to wait several hours.

And he got more sleep this way too, very nice.

So he arose out of bed and slowly dressed before slurping up his ramen and slowly making his way to the bridge. Trying desperately to ignore the whispers that followed him wherever he went.

"_Look, it's the Kyuubi brat." "Why did they allow him to graduate the academy?" "I know; it's better if he doesn't gain any more power, who knows what he could do to the village." "Exactly, it's preposterous!" _

His eyes darkened and he quickened his pace, not even sixteen years of being hated could make him completely immune to the stinging words of the people who never bothered to get to know him.

Another pair of eyes watching from the shadows, eerily similar to Naruto's also darkened, not with sadness but with anger. Then the tall figure leapt cross rooftops in a blur to the Hokage tower. He had a bone to pick with a certain Third Hokage.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow when Arashi climbed in through a window of his office. "When you said you'd be off exploring the town, I didn't think you come back within five minutes." He brought his pipe to his lips and inhaled before letting out a small cloud of smoke. "And you're lucky that no one else was in this room, if the villagers find out about your livelyho-" "I saw him. I saw Uzumaki Naruto."

Sarutobi calmly put down his pipe and smiled genuinely. "Yes, he has grown quite a bit since you last saw him, hasn't he? But that's to be expected since you were in a coma for all these years." Arashi took an angry step forward, clenching his fists.

"I knew he would be older, I just didn't expect him to be talked about as though he was a monster!" He slapped his hands down on the Hokage's desk, looking the older man straight in the eyes. "Why is he being so disrespected?"

Sarutobi sighed, a dark look settling upon his features. "I'm afraid that your wish for the boy to been seen as a hero was never something the villagers regarded him as. He's been detested by the villagers for as long as he's lived, they see him as the Kyuubi, not the container of it, not the one he'd keeping the demon at bay, but as the fox who nearly destroyed Konoha and killed many."

Arashi stood speechless for a moment before turning on his heel and storming out of the room. 'This has to be rectified.'

He went out in search of Naruto, finally finding him in the midst of a D class mission, gardening. He carefully watched as the boy ignored the hateful look from the woman whose garden he was tending, his eyes once in a while flicking to the forms of the boy's students and Kakashi, his previous student.

He had silently trailed them the whole day, metal storing any information he found: Kakashi favoring the Uchiha boy, the pink haired girl constantly making eyes at said Uchiha boy, Naruto making eyes at the pink haired girl.

By the end of the day as the group split up Arashi wasn't quite sure how he was going to solve this problem. His teammates seemed fairly tolerant of him and Kakashi, although he obviously favored the Uchiha, seemed to not _outwardly_ hate Naruto.

But as for the rest of the village, well, they seemed to be a different matter all together.

So he quickly resolved to himself that he'd help Naruto and make the village see what a good boy he had to be.

To bad he forgot that he was supposed to be dead, and didn't know of Naruto's extreme fear of ghosts, or else he might have changed his plans. After all, the boy screaming before fainting into his arms wasn't really what he had expected.

Of course, him being unconscious and everything allowed him to have a closer look at the boy.

Damn, it was kind of freaky how much they looked alike. 'Of course, when I was his age I had lost all of my baby fat, and was a bit more buff. I wonder why girls aren't hanging off of him, he's kind of cute.' A grin stretched over his lips. 'Actually, he's very cute, maybe even cuter then I was at his age, of course, I was a lot hotter at that age-' His thoughts stopped in their tracks when he heard a small groan. "Ah-ha, time for sleeping beauty to wake up huh?"

Naruto, having vaguely heard the comment, blindly swung his hands around to hit whoever said such a horribly offensive thing. Of course, when he wasn't able to hit anything, he opened his eyes again.

"Yo." "G-G-G-GHOST!" Naruto made a mad dash to get away, but unfortunately Arashi was much quicker and had caught Naruto before he was even back on his feat.

Arashi stared into the brilliant, tearful eyes of the teenager and wondered if he ever pulled off an expression like that. 'But really, does he have to be so freaked out, I'm not a gho- oh, I guess this is pretty freaky actually.'

"Look Naruto." "H-How do you know my name?" "Well, I was there when you were born and everything." The tears in Naruto's eyes faded away and his mouth dropped open into an 'o' shape, his eyes focusing harshly on the face in front of him.

"Are you my… Father?"

Arashi couldn't hold in his laughter, he was rolling around on the ground, his shoulder shaking and there was no sign of stopping. Naruto sweatdropped and held out his hand, not sure how to react. "That wasn't a funny question, was it?"

Arashi seemed to get a hold of himself for one moment, glanced up at Naruto, and then burst out with laughter again.

Of course, this pissed Naruto off, so he harshly grabbed the older blonde's hair and kneeled down to the Fourth's eyelevel. "What's so funny, _Yondaime-sama?_" 'I wonder if I ever look so scary when I was a kid… Probably, if I had some killing intent… Uh-oh.'

"Well you see, it's just that I thought it was funny, cause we do look very alike, but that completely goes against the basics of genes. If you were my child, then you'd have to look a bit like your mother too." "Oh…" The boy looked thoughtful for a moment. 'Aw, kawaii.' "But why did you _think that was FUNNY_!" 'Oh, scary.' "I don't know, it was more of a, you had to be there type of thing." "I was there you idiot!" Naruto huffed angrily and let go of Arashi's hair, smiling a bit when he heard his forehead hit the floor with a dull thud.

'Oh, this boy isn't really how I pictured him, I thought he'd be a lot more angsty, and not have a bad temper. And not have some strange fear of ghosts.' Arashi coughed a bit into his clenched fist. 'He's kind of quirky actually, it's sort of refreshing.' He glanced up at the boy, who was now pacing a few feet a head of him.

"Well then, how about we go about proving I'm not a ghost." "Don't have to, I'm sure ghosts are scarier then you." Arashi cocked an eyebrow. 'Oh really.' "How do you know I'm not just tricking you, luring you into a false sense of security before I pounce and steal your soul?" He wiggled his fingers in what he supposed was a non-threatening way, but he really didn't feel like putting effort into it. Naruto just glowered at him and Arashi smiled. 'I like this kid, he's so… Radical.'

"Stop grinning at me like that. I want answers, I want them now. Why are you here when everyone said that you died sixteen years ago, and why haven't you aged in those sixteen years?" Arashi's grin widened. "You're straight to the point, aren't you. Well, let's just say that after the sealing of the Kyuubi I was put into a coma in order to recover my lost chakra, for the past sixteen years the only reason I was living was because medic nins were feeding me their energy. I don't know why I haven't aged, but I suppose it has something to do with the medic nins that took care of me freezing my ageing process." 'Ha, I can be straight to the point to.'

Naruto's eyebrow twitched and he turned around. 'I'm going to make myself some ramen, and forget all about the man behind me, dattebayo!'

Unfortunately Arashi wasn't easily ignored, he could just be lounging around a kitchen, which is exactly what he was doing, and he still looked unbelievably sexy.

Naruto wished that Sakura was around so that he'd have his crush to distract him from the man sitting in his kitchen. 'Damn it, what the hell's going on. This day has been sooo fucked up. I'd better wake up in the morning and find out this was all a dream.' Naruto snapped his fingers in inspiration. 'Yosh! I'll go to sleep right after I finish my ramen, this has to be a dream. I must have been exhausted after weeding that ladies garden and I fell asleep and had this dream and once I go to sleep I'll wake back up and-' He glanced over at the man who seemed to be falling asleep at his kitchen table. 'Then I can forget all about this.'

He quickly polished off his instant ramen, ignoring the amused blue eyes watching him, and then he dashed into his bedroom, slowly changing into his pajamas.

"Oi Naruto, what do you do for fun-" Two sets of nearly identical eyes widened as Arashi burst into the room, while Naruto was completely naked.

"DON'T YOU EVER KNOCK?" Naruto threw his top at the older man, flashing from head to tow. "Get out! GET OUT!"

Arashi calmly walked out of the room, holding Naruto's pajama top in his clenched fist, a blush slowly covering his face. 'Oh… My…'

Naruto quickly put on his pajama bottoms and practically jumped into his bed. 'This had better be a dream or tomorrow _someone_ is going to regret not knocking!' He curled up and despite the early time, was able to get to sleep.

Unfortunately when you go to sleep at six at night, you wake up a lot earlier then you want to, like three in the morning. This wouldn't have been so unfortunate if Naruto hadn't opened his eyes to see Arashi staring straight back at him.

"GAH! What are you doing in my room?" 'I guess this means it wasn't a dream.' Arashi ignored the question in favor of telling Naruto he looked like an angel when he slept. 'I wonder if I ever looked that peaceful when I was sleeping.'

"That's not a good reason to watch people as they sleep. It's _freaky_, or was this some kind of trend back when you were young, what, twenty something years ago?" When the man didn't respond to his goading Naruto huffed and flipped over onto his side. 'Kamikaze Arashi, the Yellow Flash, the great Fourth Hokage, he's the strangest guy I've ever met.' A blush coloured his cheeks. 'Watching me as I sleep, how weird is that.'

"You know getting too much sleep actually makes you feel exhausted, so you might as well get up now." Naruto huffed and clenched his eyes shut as he tried his hardest to go back to sleep.

"You probably won't be able to get to sleep anyways, you're far too tense." Naruto rolled his eyes. "Oh I wonder why." He muttered under his breath, tensing even more when he heard the man behind him move. "What was that?" The hushed whisper blew gently across Naruto's neck and the younger blonde giggled and squirmed. "Don't do that, it tickles."

Arashi was aghast, here he was practically coming on to the boy, and all he goes is _it tickles_? No _get away _or _you heard me_. 'His oblivious nature is cute, he's cute, his fear of ghosts is cute-' "You're too adorable, how could anyone hate you?" He saw the boy tense and mentally smacked himself. 'You had it explained to you; it's not good to bring up such ominous topics when you're trying to have a nice conversation!'

He sat himself on the bed and glanced down at Naruto, placing a reassuring hand on the boys shoulder. "You shouldn't worry about it. After all, I wated you to be seen as a hero, and I'll make sure that you are, just as soon as Sarutobi decides it's a good time to tell everyone I'm still alive." Naruto, still tense, glared up at him. "Why do you care? Do you have some sort of ulterior motive?"

Arashi didn't know whether to feel insulted or grab hold of he boy and hug him until he was sure Naruto knew he didn't have any sort of underhanded plot.

So he went for just telling the truth, since he felt neither of the above options would be very useful.

"Well, combined with the fact that you're the son of my best friend, I'm then one who actually sealed Kyuubi inside you _and_ I think you're cute I think I have good enough reasons to make sure that the village changes its opinions."

Naruto stared up at him, one eyebrow raised and a hint of a blush forming on his cheeks. 'That was a really blatant answer.'

"Anyways, I figure since you don't have to get out of bed for a while-" "W-What?" Arashi blinked cluelessly before breaking out into a grin. "Oh don't worry; we can do that type of stuff later. What I was going to say was that since we have time, you can ask me about anything, everything, I bet you want to know what your mom was like."

Naruto rolled over to face Arashi, dozens of questions running through his head, but to his embarrassment the first to pop out was. "Do you really think I'm cute?"

Arashi grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, my nickname used to be 'Arashi the Narcissist', I guess seeing someone so cute looking and so much like me has got me being egocentric again." He let out a hearty laugh, inwardly reprimanding himself. 'You could have just said yes, now he's going to think the only reason you think he's cute is 'cause he looks like you!'

"I see… Next question, I once heard a rumor that said you impregnated five women within weeks of each other, is that true?"

Arashi fell off the bed, coughing, sputtering and blushing for all he was worth. "F-Five! I know I was taught by Jiraiya, but that doesn't automatically make me some sort of crazed womanizer! I don't even like girls!" By the end of his miniature rant he was yelling it right into Naruto's face before moving back a bit and taking a couple of deep breaths.

"Uhh… I only asked you if it was true, you didn't have to tell me all that other stuff…" Naruto trailed off with a blush, his eyes looking anywhere but the man in front of him. 'Just 'because he said he doesn't like girls doesn't necessarily mean he likes guys, maybe he likes neither.' Naruto gazed up for a moment a found Arashi's face much closer than it used to be.

"Well, I guess since that cat's out of the bag I might as well let out the whole litter." "Oh no! You don't have to do that!" Naruto waved his hands around wildly, but Arashi caught hold of both his wrists easily and brought his face closer.

"The second cat would be that I used to have the hots for Jiraiya." Naruto's face screwed up. 'Ewwwww. I didn't need to know that.' "The third cat is that when you were born, your mother made me promise to take care of you before she died of blood loss." 'Mother…' "The fourth cat…" Arashi took a deep breath. "I was crying when I sealed the Kyuubi inside you. You were seriously wounded after your birth and you would not have survived if you hadn't had its healing energy. I wanted so badly to keep my promise that I made your life a living nightmare." The older man had started to shake slightly and Naruto awkwardly patted his head. "It's okay, I don't mind. Thanks to the Kyuubi's chakra I've gotten through a lot of sticky situation where I could have died without it. Besides, a promise is a promise, and I wouldn't want to know you broke a promise to my… My mother…"

There was awkward silence for a couple of minutes where the only thing Naruto could bring himself to do was lightly stoke the sunshine blond hair in front of him. 'Soft…'

"Well… Does there happen to be a fifth cat, or are they all free from the bag?" Naruto asked, humor creeping into his voice. Arashi smiled up at him. "Well, there is now. You see, combined with your utter cuteness, my vow to protect you and your refreshing personality, I feel rather attracted to you."

Naruto sweatdropped. 'How can he just come out and say it like that!' "Uh, I don't really think… The thing is, ummm… You see-" "Say no more."

Naruto, for one relaxed moment thought he was safe, then he felt lips on his.

His reaction time was quite impressive, by the third second he had pushed Arashi away and by the fourth he was on the other side of the room, turned away so that no one could see his red face.

"What the hell was that!" "I figured you were just shy and didn't know what to say." "So you kissed me?" "Well, it seemed the thing to do." Naruto clenched his fists and turn on his heel.

"Seemed like the thing to do? _Seemed like the thing to do_!" "Yep. You're awfully cute when you blush like that." The result of that sentence was Naruto going even redder.

"But how can kissing me seem like the thing to do! You don't even know if I like you!" Arashi grinned and put his hand on his hips confidently. "Oh my dear Naruto, I know everything about you, I can read your mind." "CANNOT!" "Can too." "Fine! What am I thinking now?" "Well, it's along the lines that I'm a bastard, but a sexy bastard."

Naruto took a step back, eyebrows twitching. 'Dammit, how the hell-' Arashi was suddenly hugging him gently, his chin resting comfortably on Naruto's head.

"Don't worry Naruto, I'll protect you from now on. In a couple of days everyone will know I'm alive and I'll make sure you're treated the way you deserve to be. And as for our quickly developing relationship-" Naruto blushed glowered slightly at that. "Well, I'm sure you'll find that I'm completely irresistible, so we'll have no problems there." He took a step back and gave Naruto a quick peck on the cheek.

"Well, I'm off to save the world! Or something like it… Either way, I'll be seeing you soon." And then he disappeared, leaving Naruto to stumble to his bed and fall face first onto the mattress.

'What the hell was that about? There is no way that just happened. I just have to eat some breakfast and… Wake up some more. Yep, truly, definitely.' He made his way to the kitchen, and began preparing his ramen when a note on the kitchen table caught his eye.

_Dear Naruto,_

_Why yes, this did happen, and if you really don't want to believe me, I'm sure I can refresh your memory tonight. I bet you're all dazed and confused, I'm sure I would be too. (We're so alike!) But don't worry; I'll be sure to take good care of you. (I'm the over protective boyfriend type.) Besides, it's easier to make sure people don't hurt you if we're in a relationship. And I'm only twelve years older than you, it could be worse-_

Naruto stopped reading at that point and heaved a sigh. 'Man this guy's persistent. I never thought I'd actually have anyone come after me for a relationship.' A small smile began to sprout on his face. 'And I do have to admit, I am a bit attracted to him…' A huge grin was now on his face. 'And maybe he can teach me some cool new jutsu! That'd be awesome!' He thrust one fist into the air.

"Alright Arashi, I'll give you a chance. You should feel privileged that you are the first partner of the Great Uzumaki Nar-" "First? For some reason that makes you even cuter."

Naruto froze, his eyebrows twitching again. "I… Thought you went off somewhere." He felt strong arms wrap around his torso and air brushing against the side of his face. "I did, but you know, it doesn't take me much time to go places, besides-" He turned Naruto around to face him. "I said I'd see you soon." And then he caught Naruto's lips with his in a short kiss, breaking away after several seconds and gently resting their foreheads together.

"And just so you know, I'm also the jealous type of boyfriend, so if I see you making eyes at anyone else-" "Oh don't worry, I don't think I could take my attention off you for a second, think of the destruction that could happen." "Heyyy, that's not nice! I'll have you know that I've only ever used my abilities for destruction once, and that was because this girl offen-"

Naruto decided to shut him up with a kiss. Neither of them really minded.

This was the beginning of a truly strange relationship. Neither of them minded about that either.


	30. FINAL POST wierdest pairing IbikiNaru

Warnings: Well, there are no spoilers that I know of and nothing really, uhh, physical happens between them…

Pairing: Ibiki/Naru (I know, I know, it's pretty fucked up…)

Summery: He passed the exam without answering a single question, he helped Idate to learn the truth, there was something strangely curious about Uzumaki Naruto…

Genre: WAFF

Rating: PG

A/N: Hey! Just a thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed this pile of one-shots. I'm sorry if for some of them my portrials of the characters were completely off, or if sometimes my storylines were boring, redundant or just plain unoriginal. But I sincerely hope you liked it overall. (And really, I think that this right here is the most fucked up pairing in Naruto fandom! Ibiki with anyone other than Anko or an Original Character is automatically strange! Sometimes it's hard to make wired pairings work!)

""-speech

''-thoughts

He had thought nothing of it when he'd seen Izumo and Kotetsu dragging a blonde inside of their 'HQ', but when he's caught sight of that horrible shade of orange that only one person could possibly ever wear he felt curiosity blooming within him. He swiftly stood up, following after the two Chuunins and one kicking and screaming Genin. If Ibiki had a tendency to show his emotions he would have frowned as Izumo and Kotetsu put the boy in a room he himself had been in many times.

To interrogate criminals.

He stepped out from around the corner, right in front of the inseparable duo, they both jumped a bit before straightening their posture and bowing formally.

"Why is Uzumaki being held in Cell Twenty Seven?" He asked dryly, Izumo decided to answer. "Well sir, it seems that Uzumaki and an Anbu got into a fight, which promptly ended when, according to the villagers, his eyes turned red and a demonic energy enveloped him. A medic-nin was nearby and healed the Anbu, but the villagers, well, they want him gone." He flinched a bit as he finished, Kotetsu took over. "We got the kid out of there as soon as we could, and this is one of the most secure places in all of Konaha, and maybe if the villagers believed he is punished for his crimes they'll leave him alone." Ibiki dismissed them with a nod, but before they were to far away, he had one more question to ask. "What started the fight?" "We're not quite sure, but we think the Anbu said something offensive about Uzumaki's parents. The whole way here he was going on about how his mother was not a whore."

Ibiki frowned, making his way toward Cell 27, from what he knew of the kid, he wasn't one to get in a fight where all spectators were against him, but then again Ibiki didn't know the kid too well. He knew he was the host for the Kyuubi, he knew that Uzumaki passed the first part of the Chuunin exam without writing down a single answer, and he knew that somehow the kid made Idate understand why he had failed the Chuunin exam. He knew three things about the boy, and Ibiki admitted to himself that he was a bit curious to know more. He opened the door silently, took one look at the boy huddled in the farthest side of the round room and asked. "Do you know why you're here Uzumaki Naruto?" Blue eyes looked at him in surprise.

"You" he exclaimed quietly, his eyes locking on Ibiki. "You're the torture specialist, right?" Ibiki nodded and Naruto sighed. "Then I guess I'm here to be tortured by you." Ibiki almost cringed visibly; did people really believe that he would hurt a child who had been using self defense against someone stronger than himself?

Ibiki glanced at the shivering child. 'Izumo and Kotetsu, those idiots! Did they not tell the kid that they were trying to help him!' Ibiki allowed a sigh to pass his lips as he walked forward, crouching down to Naruto's level when he was a foot away from the boy. "Look Uzumaki, I'm not going to torture you, I'm here so that those damned villagers think you're being taught a lesson." Uncertain eyes locked with his. "So...we're just gonna' sit here for days on end?" The blond relaxed a bit. "Actually, I was hoping you'd answer some questions." He tensed up a bit. "But only if you're comfortable answering them." Ibiki really did try and put some compassion in his voice, but apparently it didn't work since the boy tensed up even more. 'I don't seem to be very good with this _nice_ stuff.' He almost went along with the urge to sigh but instead knelt down formally in front of the boy.

"If it makes you feel any more comfortable, with every five question you'll answer, I'll answer one." "What? How is that fair!" Ibiki allowed himself to smirk. "It doesn't matter, it just is." Naruto glared daggers at him.

'So, I guess the questions thing won't work out…' "I suppose sitting in silence is good enough." Naruto cocked an eyebrow at him. "Why are you here anyway, don't you have some stuff to do?" "Not at the moment."

Naruto, apparently deciding that Ibiki wasn't his type of conversationalist, didn't retort and sat there, alone with Ibiki, in silence, very boring silence. And being that he was so bored and had absolutely nothing else to do, he quickly fell asleep slumped against the wall.

Ibiki, who had been strategically not-looking-at-the-boy-while-listening-closely-to-his-breathing was alerted of Naruto's nap when his breathing evened out.

'I suppose that's good enough for today.' He quickly rose from the floor and left the cell, barely giving the sleeping boy a glance.

'Until tomorrow then, Uzumaki.'

Morning seemed to come far too quickly and the sun seemed far too bright the next day when Ibiki made his way towards Cell 27, a small carton of milk and an apple in hand, freshly purchased from a small convenience store.

It made Ibiki wonder if the kid actually drank milk, the boy's stature seemed to short for him to partake in the consumption of calcium. And as for the apple, Ibiki had often heard that the boy wouldn't even _touch_ any food other then ramen.

Well tough luck for him then, because the only thing Ibiki was patient with was with the interrogation and torture of criminals, three minutes of his time was not going to be wasted by preparing ramen.

When he entered Naruto's holding cell he could hold back the small frown that was growing on his lips. 'Has he been sleeping since yesterday afternoon?' In his own completely unbiased opinion, you only needed five hours of sleep to get by, anything more was unnecessary lethargy.

"Oi, wake up." A blue eye _hardly_ opened before closing once more. "Mmm… No." The blonde rolled over onto his side, curling in upon himself.

Funny, Ibiki saw many people in that position, usually because they were trying to minimize damage done to their body. 'The fetal position, wasn't it? Used to minimize injuries to the neck and chest, or used by people who have gone through extreme physical or psychological trauma, arms are wrapped around the head to prevent further trauma.' Ibiki frowned again. 'Does this mean he still doesn't not trust me?' He allowed doubt to linger in his mind for a moment, until Naruto shivered.

'Ah, this position is also commonly slept in, especially when the body becomes cold. Perhaps I should leave him a blanket tonight.'

"Get up, if all you're going to do is sleep then your entire schedule will be thrown off when you're allowed out of here." There was that one blue eye hardly opening again. "And I care, why exactly?" Ibiki almost allowed his eyebrow to twitch. "You care because it's in your best interest. Here." He tossed Naruto the apple, who, in his sleepy state couldn't move his arm fast enough to catch it and it ended up hitting the side of his head instead.

"… Owwww." He slowly propped himself up and grabbed the apple, looking at it with distaste clear in his eyes. "I don't like apples." He eyed the carton in Ibiki's hand. "And I've had a couple bad experiences with milk." Ibiki flung the carton at him anyways, but this time Naruto was able to catch the object hurtling at his head.

"Eat the apple, drink the milk. It's better for you then ramen and I'm not bothering to make you any while you stay here."

The look on Naruto's face was absolutely priceless.

He looked like he was about to cry, throw a temper tantrum, glare daggers and stare at Ibiki in complete mortification all at once.

He showed more emotion in five second then Ibiki could in five hours.

'This is going to be an entertaining week.' Ibiki thought, inwardly chuckling as Naruto nibbled at the apple with a grimace, of course, outwardly he was stone cold, just like usual.

The first couple of days passed quickly, Ibiki finding out many interesting things during the course of each day and filing them away so that each night the pieces of the puzzle called Naruto began to fit together.

He usually learned simple things, like how the boy was an extreme procrastinator, or that he had unpredictable adrenalin rushes where he'd being punch the walls just to burn off the access energy, that he had once accidentally shared a pressing of lips with the Uchiha heir, he considered it to not be his true first kiss since his first kiss was much to important to be given to the Uchiha and that the boy had a strange fascination with scars.

He supposed it was due to Naruto's own whisker scars that the boy seemed to take interest in the scars of others.

He had confronted the boy about the topic once and Naruto had replied that he thought scars said a lot about people.

Naruto's opinion of his own scars were that they served as a warning, although he looked generally harmless, much like a 'cute and fluffy' quote unquote, fox, he did indeed have a row of razor sharp fangs that shouldn't be messed with.

Naruto's opinion on Kakashi's scar was that it showed determination to become stronger, having his eye taken out and then having another put in by someone who wasn't a fully fledged medic nin also indicated insanity.

His opinion of Iruka's scar was that it's placement in what a doctor would call the Danger Triangle of the face, (Which extends from the corners of the mouth to the bride of the nose.) indicated that Iruka was soft, since apparently it was easy for infections to spread from the Danger Triangle to the brain due to the special nature of the blood supply to the human nose.

He had asked Naruto about his scars, just to see the kid's reaction really, and he hadn't really expected the in depth answer that he got.

"Well, most of your scars were obtained during the time you were tortured by Aoi, right? The reason you were caught was to save Idate, and even though you were put through days of pain, you did not yield and translate the scroll for the Rain nins. I believe this indicates that you have strong moral values, you put loyalty and family above all else while you have the metal capacity to remember to put them above all else even while you are being put through physically harmful situations." When he had stopped Ibiki couldn't help but blink in surprise, then Naruto grinned.

"It also indicates that, like Kakashi-sensei, you're a bit off in the sanity department."

After that piece of insight Ibiki actually allowed himself to smile, surprising both himself and Naruto, who simply had to comment.

"This is the second time I've seen you smile, you look a lot less threatening this way." Ibiki rose an eyebrow. "When was the first time?" "When me, Sasuke and Sakura-chan were leaving after helping the Wasabi clan and Idate in that race. You smiled when the boat was leaving."

Naruto seemed fairly embarrassed to state the remembrance of the occasion, but Ibiki, like most times, decided not to comment.

As one may guess, spending an entire week with only one person to talk to was really irritating, especially to someone like Naruto, who enjoyed speaking to, annoying and in some way or another (ie, pranking) communicating with many people at one time.

He was slowly being driven _crazy_, he was sure of it, there was no possible way that he could take much more of interacting with only one person, especially when said person hardly made any facial expression and didn't talk back much and otherwise made you feel like you were talking to a wall.

Of course, there were a couple times when Ibiki seemed to be interested in the conversation and actually gave some input. It was those conversations that allowed Naruto to keep his sanity, or at least, that's what he felt about it.

'I suppose it could be worse.' He thought as he snuggled into the thick blanket Ibiki had given to him, how many days ago? Four, five, maybe six? 'Not that it matters, the village is probably still in a a huge uproar about this and I'll probably never get out.

The very idea of staying in a cell, never going outside again… It was horrible!

'But at least Ibiki goes through the trouble of coming here everyday and trying to make it easier on me. No one else has bothered to visit. Or maybe it's just that Ibiki is the only one allowed in these cells…' Naruto laid his head on his stiff arms and mentally put _ask Ibiki for a pillow_, on his list of things to do tomorrow.

'Damn it, I hate having to wait. When, when will I be free!' Naruto vaguely wondered if he should do some overdramatic gesture with his thought, but decided against it. 'What's the point of doing anything when no one's around to see you do it? Gah, I hate being locked up.'

He slowly turned onto his back, staring abysmally at the gloomy ceiling above him. 'I swear to God, much more of being cooped up here and I really will go insane.'

Luckily he did not have much longer to wait. The following morning Ibiki came in horrendously early, as usual, and in his usual monotone voice announced.

"You can leave now."

The sheer and utter joy Naruto felt at hearing those four words could easily outweigh the delight Jiraiya would have if he gained the powers of invisibility.

Which is why he found himself thanking the messenger 'boy', not with words, but with a small peck on the cheek, before practically dancing out of the room. 'Freedom! Freedom! Tra-la-la!'

Ibiki held one hand to his cheek and wondered if his face had turned a slight shade of pink.

Naruto seemed to take the whole kissing business very seriously after all, so even a kiss on the cheek must mean a lot. Ibiki quickly gained composure and strode out of the room.

Maybe he should escort Naruto home, for safety reasons of course, the boy didn't seem to be in his right state of mind and a lot of people were probably still angry with him.

And of course Ibiki was a good candidate to be the escort, since he could make ANBU stop in their tracks with a mere glare.

Yes, accompanying the boy home would be a good idea.

For safety reasons, really.


End file.
